ee et 
ote st atehate“e! 


2a 


Perers: 
thee 


Seles 


ties 


uk 


« 
paeeabure Parte 


-—- 

.t 5 4 

Soret toe tht 
reteset: Peeeret tre peer es bene a 

Det aey 5 eet eee deen abe) 


eee 


ofa 

al< foes a tse! 
Ub deep eeteepedl rupees esenrs 
rete beast oe 


PAL 
sastoc 


eS 


we Sr eee 
Sei bre alone Sr iseres eee Horse erect 
3 =< 


Sielecsceeeyecosesel 


nats 
ores peter ae es 
ke ee 


Pees 
‘opens Sip i yess Bi epiemee te ee 
eats Sacoas : 


chk oeee eis 
Oe ea ee tb wo tee nk 


* 
Seneca: 
gle hr yr tet e tow oo eon Be loet enter ese 
Pe dene pend tego e. er orr peti hehe Dror) 
eee eer aes 


Btef 


SSrt 
Sxbihabaes 


Ste ere 
rer herk Bt-anpthos 
Y Ber hPa rr tog ors Shaken tou iphone tapes ear ' 
See hee e et ate Sires dnts 4. es enh sad erate Gaston as jue 
St Bert gyn et Pepe bear pyran ber epee at ietessie soelenes 
widcpe isang erésesecers pseeeenredse 
tt Poe ee 
Dales eerie S 
rorerr (eres er sar 


ones CaR Se ye r rset 
SO EO: aatsce Hk 
ee ee ee ee ee ee ee eee 
3 ets Sete 
fata tesraee 


: 
prises strtoe ets 
Sat Shia st ht be aa 
O26 pel tc ete ee eae Te en 
ay eee ear are 


ech Te Oe Tare oo ele ele ely 
rea ge ere eet” LeS.tr 


or) wr One meld jen baba eaten} sey ee 


Seco te seins obi sle So Sy eee FY 


Tae e 
pepe Stee) 
SSS 
ares 
ene eres sa 
ke Leelee lee 
popeere roan pid 


te a ore “ot ies whewe- 
La Mp gle Tenge SSSI 


ee ne teeta) 
SESE cick) 


oe ~ 
; PEDERSEN SOS SE ES?” 

mec be batches -s2rotesoerenenteetes te 

weTSt Ie. 


eaceees 
se ese 


Serer et Sees 


Si rele eel 
= 


SaverseSeorerer nae 
een ene eae seer eee ad gee eeeee 


(6 ae sens oe ee ree 


Received by bequest from 
Albert H. Lybyer 
Professor of History 
University of Illinois 
1916-1949 


“my 


CENTRAL CIRCULATION BOOKSTACKS 


The person charging this material is re- 
sponsible for its renewal or its return to 
the library from which it was borrowed 
on or before the Latest Date stamped 
below. You may be charged a minimum 
fee of $75.00 for each lost book. 

Theft, mutilation, and underlining of books are reasons 
for disciplinary action and may result in dismissal from 


the University. 
TO RENEW CALL TELEPHONE CENTER, 333-8400 


UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 


APR 05 199 


When renewing by phone, write new due date below 
previous due date. L162 


4) i ¥ " 

i Ha : 

! otk 
Coos ay 


3 
a 
3 
J 
3h 


Pa 
ow 


¢ 


pace 


ERATO: MUSE OF LYRIC POETRY. 


Photogravure from the ortginal painting by Paul Baudry, in the Grand Opera 
House at Parts. 


~ 


’ 
: 
5 s> 
Uv es 


7 


yr 


* 


ory ee ree 
aaa or See eer Or 


ER SRE eee 


ann ikon Sat phn bela (argent it up's 


* 


ee 


Saline cediiateeradinual > hay 


‘ 
i 
’ 


‘a 
a 


“ae 


BABYLONIAN AND 
ASSYRIAN LITERATURE 


§ 
eerie 


TOXOYOXCOYELY OKO KOKO 


rN. 
RE O) 
ita oSoler } 


= 
~ 
e 
g 
-_ 


ONON CON ON ORO ENCODE EES ay VOX OMNI GALO 
4 —— ae, ys .: ya %, = —- 
ae (Sng? C$ o> 77, v = 


oe 


\ 


RK COMPRISING 


Kee 


THE EPIC OF IZDUBAR, HYMNS, TABLETS, 
AND 
CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


== | 


ei 


WITH A SPECIAL INTRODUCTION BY 
EPIPHANIUS WILSON, A.M. 


O= 


oe 


—_ Se 


ic 


Ss 
fe 


REVISED EDITION 


S 
<8 NE 
a iS ————4 
a & 


YOXOXCYCOX ONC) 


CopyRIGHT, Igo1, 
By THE COLONIAL PRESS. 


SPECIAL INTRODUCTION 


HE great nation which dwelt in the seventh century be- 
fore our era on the banks of Tigris and Euphrates 
flourished in literature as well as in the plastic arts, and 

had an alphabet of its own. The Assyrians sometimes wrote 
with a sharp reed, for a pen, upon skins, wooden tablets, or 
papyrus brought from Egypt. In this case they used cursive 
letters of a Phoenician character. But when they wished to 
preserve their written documents, they employed clay tablets, 
and a stylus whose bevelled point made an impression like a 
narrow elongated wedge, or arrow-head. By a combination of 
these wedges, letters and words were formed by the skilled and 
practised scribe, who would thus rapidly turn off a vast amount 
of “copy.” All works of history, poetry, and law were thus 
written in the cuneiform or old Chaldean characters, and on a 
substance which could withstand the ravages of time, fire, or 
water. Hence we have authentic monuments of Assyrian liter- 
ature in their original form, unglossed, unaltered, and un- 
- garbled, and in this respect Chaldean records are actually 


’ superior to those of the Greeks, the Hebrews, or the Romans. 


The literature of the Chaldeans is very varied in its forms. 
The hymns to the gods form an important department, and 
were doubtless employed in public worship. They are by no 
means lacking in sublimity of expression, and while quite un- 
- metrical they are proportioned and emphasized, like Hebrew 
poetry, by means of parallelism. In other respects they re- 
- semble the productions of Jewish psalmists, and yet they date 
as far back as the third millennium before Christ. They seem 
- to have been transcribed in the shape in which we at present 
»~ have them in the reign of Assurbanipal, who was a great 
patron of letters, and in whose reign libraries were formed in 
the principal cities. The Assyrian renaissance of the seven- 
teenth century B.c. witnessed great activity among scribes 
and book collectors: modern scholars are deeply indebted to 
this golden age of letters in Babylonia for many precious and 

111 


iv SPECIAL INTRODUCTION 


imperishable monuments. It is, however, only within recent 
years that these works of hoar antiquity have passed from the 
secluded cell of the specialist and have come within reach of 
the general reader, or even of the student of literature. For 
many centuries the cuneiform writing was literally a dead 
letter to the learned world. The clue to the understanding of 
this alphabet was originally discovered in 1850 by Colonel 
Rawlinson, and described by him in a paper read before the 
Royal Society. Hence the knowledge of Assyrian literature 
is, so far as Europe is concerned, scarcely more than half a 
century old. 

Among the most valuable of historic records to be found 
among the monuments of any nation are inscriptions, set up 
on public buildings, in palaces, and in temples. The Greek and 
Latin inscriptions discovered at various points on the shores of 
the Mediterranean have been of priceless value in determining 
certain questions of philology, as well as in throwing new light 
on the events of history. Many secrets of language have been 
revealed, many perplexities of history disentangled, by the 
words engraven on stone or metal, which the schoiar dis- 
covers amid the dust of ruined temples, or on the cippus of a 
tomb. The form of one Greek letter, perhaps even its ex- 
istence, would never have been guessed but for its discovery 
in an inscription. If inscriptions are of the highest critical 
importance and historic interest, in languages which are rep- 
resented by a voluminous and familiar literature, how much 
more precious must they be when they record what hap- 
pened in the remotest dawn of history, surviving among the 
ruins of a vast empire whose people have vanished from the 
face of the earth? 

Hence the cuneiform inscriptions are of the utmost interest 
and value, and present the greatest possible attractions to the 
curious and intelligent reader. They record the deeds and con- 
quests of mighty kings, the Napoleons and Hannibals of pri- 
meval time. They throw a vivid light on the splendid sculptures 
of Nineveh; they give a new interest to the pictures and carv- 
ings that describe the building of cities, the marching to war, 
the battle, by sea and land, of great monarchs whose horse 
and foot were as multitudinous as the locusts that in Eastern 
literature are compared to them. Lovers of the Bible will find 


SPECIAL INTRODUCTION Vv 


in the Assyrian inscriptions many confirmations of Scripture 
history, as well as many parallels to the account of the primi- 
tive world in Genesis, and none can give even a cursory glance 
at these famous remains without feeling his mental horizon 
widened. We are carried by this writing on the walls of As- 
syrian towns far beyond the little world of the recent centuries ; 
we pass, as almost modern, the day when Julius Cesar struggled 
in the surf of Kent against the painted savages of Britain. 
Nay, the birth of Romulus and Remus is a recent event in com- 
parison with records of incidents in Assyrian national life, 
which occurred not only before Moses lay cradled on the 
waters of an Egyptian canal, but before Egypt had a single 
temple or pyramid, three millenniums before the very dawn of 
history in the valley of the Nile. 

But the interest of Assyrian Literature is*not confined to 
hymns, or even to inscriptions. A nameless poet has left in the 
imperishable tablets of a Babylonian library an epic poem of 
great power and beauty. This is the Epic of Izdubar. 

At Dur-Sargina, the city where stood the palace of Assyrian 
monarchs three thousand years ago, were two gigantic human 
figures, standing between the winged bulls, carved in high re- 
lief, at the entrance of the royal residence. These human 
figures are exactly alike, and represent the same personage—a 
Colossus with swelling thews, and dressed in a robe of dignity. 
He strangles a lion by pressing it with brawny arm against his 
side, as if it were no more than a cat. This figure is that of 
Izdubar, or Gisdubar, the great central character of Assyrian 
poetry and sculpture, the theme of minstrels, the typical hero of 
his land, the favored of the gods. What is called the Epic of 
Izdubar relates the exploits of this hero, who was born the 
son of a king in Ourouk of Chaldea. His father was de- 
throned by the Elamites, and Izdubar was driven into the 
wilderness and became a mighty hunter. In the half-peopled 
earth, so lately created, wild beasts had multiplied and threat- 
ened the extermination of mankind. The hunter found himself 
at war with monsters more formidable than even the lion or 
the wild bull. There were half-human scorpions, bulls with the 
head of man, fierce satyrs and winged griffins. Deadly war did 
Izdubar wage with them, till as his period of exile drew near 
to aclose he said to his mother, “ I have dreamed a dream; the 


vi SPECIAL INTRODUCTION 


stars rained from heaven upon me; then a creature, fierce-faced 
and taloned like a lion, rose up against me, and I smote and 
slew him.” _ 

The dream was long in being fulfilled, but at last Izdubar 
was told of a monstrous jinn, whose name was Heabani; his 
head was human but horned; and he had the legs and tail of 
a bull, yet was he wisest of all upon earth. Enticing him from 
his cave by sending two fair women to the entrance, Izdubar 
took him captive and led him to Ourouk, where the jinn 
married one of the women whose charms had allured him, and 
became henceforth the well-loved servant of Izdubar. Then 
Izdubar slew the Elamite who had dethroned his father, and 
put the royal diadem on his own head. And behold the goddess 
Ishtar (Ashtaroth) cast her eyes upon the hero and wished to be 
his wife, but he rejected her with scorn, reminding her of the fate 
of Tammuz, and of Alala the Eagle, and of the shepherd Tabou- 
lon—all her husbands, and all dead before their time. Thus, as 
the wrath of Juno pursued Paris, so the hatred of this slighted 
goddess attends Izdubar through many adventures. The last 
plague that torments him is leprosy, of which he is to be cured 
by Khasisadra, son of Oubaratonton, last of the ten primeval 
kings of Chaldea. Khasisadra, while still living, had been 
transported to Paradise, where he yet abides. Here he is found 
by Izdubar, who listens to his account of the Deluge, and learns 
from him the remedy for his disease. The afflicted hero is 
destined, after being cured, to pass, without death, into the 
company of the gods, and there to enjoy immortality. With 
this promise the work concludes. 

The great poem of Izdubar has but recently been known to 
European scholars, having been discovered in 1871 by the 
eminent Assyriologist, Mr. George Smith. It was probably 
written about 2000 B.c., though the extant edition, which came 
from the library of King Assurbanipal in the palace at Dur- 
Sargina, must bear the date of 600 B.c. The hero is supposed 
to be a solar personification, and the epic is interesting to 
modern writers not only on account of its description of the 
Deluge, but also for the pomp and dignity of its style, and for 
its noble delineation of heroic character. 


Epp hauuiv hibn ee 


em, 


CONTENTS 


THE Epic oF ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR: PAGE 
PO ANVOCRUOM van scwlewses cece ses ines e ee aeauireirels : 3 
RDG SME OS EOLOCIL irs vows on celui ecu acs » 06 6] pene aeRO, or 5 
ie RESCUG OL ETOCI i 75 yh. bs oma bein sprites ‘agi te aL ey os 13 
Carmpanonr I2U0AT .. . . nan'as anelds dates ah en sae een eh 17 
SSTICAY STN FEET NAICS 2, 2c ccje\a e's o/4 5 Suaatee aide at th aamene Tat 20 
Isduhar balls in Cove with Ishtar... 5. as cusvels nee eie avn eatss 23 
Ishtar’s Midnight Courtshipijoiue sd. jade sesh ask ott 26 
The. King’s Second Dream ca. ce Fijeoas, anitiasls Melee ek OMS 29 
Izdubar Relates, His Second Dream. ....%1)53 ch dia) 3 recut 32 
Hedbani,, the Hermitiseeriin 2c... idss Sue i talild ete eG stots 36 
Eexpeadition Of/ZaiGi ty cies cs-9 sihis Soin oR VIG A dey eee Sie bitie 38 
Heabani Resolves.ta Returns siciot weal. Da, becuse s Aes iei 40 
Heabant's, W isdani sss ovate eos: fo HAN ORS. Beat 42 
IniPraise, of Izdubar, and: Heabaniocciiit Shel eek as asia bra: 44 
ZAI BT CUITN op ae 6 0a co ewe da viys f AK EO ete eReD £3 46 
The. wo; Maidens Entice. the:Seer i¢ s.naa) sds Jo. beep) i 48 
Festival.in Honor,of-Heabani.. seas Jie. teed’. 50 
Izdubar, Slays the; Midannit.;sneraruiae, Quotes set) apaelit bi 52 
Annual Sale of the Maidens of Babylon.................... 53 
Councilini the Palace salsa iss. sav boul? ie sient aan dite 61 
The King-at the Shrine of Ishtar, aii. iv!) en 2argy 1 eel 65 
The ,Kinpvat the; temple of,Samas,.... ecagit aie es 70 
Expedition against) Khumbaba.~ saves. sath aceadanae wee res 72 
Conflict.of the Rival: Giants... kansas Bly di. 75 
Coronation of Izdubbariou sags xc teraisst so. WIRY OL Vu ee 77 
The King’s Answer and Ishtar’s Rage............0...c0ue- 81 
suiitany Complaine fc) Antena wes a 5 bic saree eats yd Ges, sao ote 83 
Fight with the Winged Bull of Anu................. rea Ratiae 84 
ne urbe OF Ishtar:s. aso Y caasl see wee tubten ss eis nine, sale ols 86 
ignter weaves a opel Over (zdibaris fogs. aos sin ae cele s 89 
Jahtar’s Descent ta bi ages ys ha eG yoink ees css begs gI 
Effect of Ishtar’s Imprisonment in Hades............. 93 


vii 


Vili CONTENTS 


THE Epic OF ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR—Continued ire 
Papsukul Intercedes for Ishtar see te ke eo Ce ee eee 95 
Release Or SHtars oe «sets cw ebielelete te fe Peers Gunite a ne etn ere 98 
Tammuz Restored to Life i. tyre os os oes oe arene cae 100 
Escape ofl ammuz from Places re aces wre eee ee 103 
TheiKing and\the Seer Conversess. 0.0.2). .on seer seen 108 
Contest with the! Dragons). gi octests se shew ies emi ee ante Sy te B Ce. 
Heabani Reveals Visions to the King........s.s0es+seeeeee 115 
Grief-ofithe King Over Teabanieeiaisren 6 oc ties cies s ae 120 
Burial of the Seer. 222 cee kee ses ose ee ee ee 123 
Iedubardinters Hades ne ieee reatre awe oe cries semen nner 126 
The King’s Adventure............ ine eae ne Geena cone ee ee 133 
Whe King Meets’ Ur-neaw, tne acini ani cle cre erty eta 140 
Mia: welcomes 1z7dgpariweee eee Ah gh eb iymiriincac: 146 
Thetisine Becomes linmortal sep cwnes vee s een te ars eters 149 
Izdubar' Falls in*Loverwith lua. vous seas aes eerie e ree 152 
Mua’s'Answer osu. eerie st note eer ore Valea atlas sas 154 


TABLETS AND CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS: 


Babylonian Exorcisms s.:. 6/1, ss «is es oe ee ie eres ree 159 
Accadian JH ymm:to istar <i. £5 site % viatelcte's © cistoue tbh stay Ret 162 
Annals of Assur-Nasi-Pal |.isicciew sajeheleinm 2 siele hee aminte ot tte a 165 
Assyrian Sacred (POctry: fie. emie ava aie tee colt ia eit meena earn 198 
Assyrian Talismans'and Exorcisms :<iiai.1 oss « s/ceclews sla 202 
Ancient Babylonian (Charms 2.0 wis ise nese As As Paes 206 
Inscription of ‘Tiglath: Pileser. geen ies ake valerate eet 212 
he Revolt ‘in Fleaviens aero sire vscsatetats nfoie ote ot tscoishoake Sree eee ras 230 
The Legend ofthe lowerjot; Babeluk fiw. ee cine oe ee 232 
An:Accadian FeniteptialsPsalmiwcpnc. sees elise vie ee Gils tere 234 
The Black: ObeliskiofiShalmaneser litiinicis seseats see 238 
Inscription of; Nebuchadnezzar tse. ituei oss cals salar tic serene 250 
Accadian Poem on the Seven Evil Spirits.................- 266 
Chaldean Hynins to \inecoitn sora. we crehtaie liao wi ptare ae ie 27k 
Two Accadian Fiymnsiaitie eat ate ofoeittere oc fats see etal bm ay fe 
Accadian- Proverbs andisOnes: acunicuniian tai. Lie kioatsts oe eae 278 
Babylonian PublictDocuments 00.0 site's. -10) een cele stake SRE 281 
Babylonian Private ‘Contracts, ye... 5 cosines teh eee Reneene 282 


Great Inscription of. Khorsabads7siac. stn a srteciei a eee 294 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


FACING PAGE 
ERATO: Muse oF Lyric PoETRY p : . Frontispiece 
Photogravure from a painting by Paul Baudry 


PEGASUS, THE WINGED HoRSE . : } : : ax. Of 


Photo-engraving from the original group by Lequesne in the Grand 
Opera House, Paris 


Val ‘ 
ii fn 


ite 


Ave Rati 


ae: 


hid 3 


He ee aie 


Ai 
a 
’ 


Ri 


» 
Hide 
a, 


} 
1 


ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


[Translated by Leondas Le Cenci Hamilton, M.A.] 


MAT Ve ) ia! 
 ) Ue) ae nee oD ee ot eo 
‘fe . @) : PT ’ To) ee } 7; 
Pan! wk ‘ § y vt & wae if T 
£0 Nay nk Ce PUNE Uk Uk EL) : 
J A ee ay eed RT Dr? 
; ay HH. bi “" uf ran ts, Wh ie 
; y AS ny pS Bits y 


i: 


) r a 


» 


? en iy aF aa ‘ fd | 
MKD m NPM iy 
TORE ean f hd Aba . Dy / 
, m ay iF y ad 


mite hy) 
an ee) a hee 
ly ee 


ci 
; ely : ie 
be "| ry) 


ALCOVE | 


TABLET I: COLUMN I 
INVOCATION 


LOVE, my queen and goddess, come to me; 

() My soul shall never cease to worship thee; 
Come pillow here thy head upon my breast, 

And whisper in my lyre thy softest, best, 
And sweetest melodies of bright Sami, 
Our Happy Fields? above dear Subariu; * 
Come nestle closely with those lips of love 
And balmy breath, and I with thee shall rove 
Through Sari* past ere life on earth was known, 
And Time unconscious sped not, nor had flown. 
Thou art our all in this impassioned life: 
How sweetly comes thy presence ending strife, 
Thou god of peace and Heaven’s undying joy, 
Oh, hast thou ever left one pain or cloy 
Upon this beauteous world to us so dear? 
To all mankind thou art their goddess here. 
To thee we sing, our holiest, fairest god, 
The One who in that awful chaos trod 
And woke the Elements by Law of Love 
To teeming worlds in harmony to move. 
From chaos thou hast led us by thy hand, 
5 Thus spoke to man upon that budding land: 
“ The Queen of Heaven, of the dawn am I, 
The goddess of all wide immensity, 


1“ Samu,” heaven, . ““S, 954,”’ one of the oldest hymns of a 

2“* Happy Fields,” celestial gardens, very remote date, deposited in the 
heaven. British Museum by Mr. Smi 

%“* Subartu,’”’ Syria. comes from Erech, one of the oldest, 


4“ Sari,” plural form of ‘“‘ saros,” a if not the oldest, city of Babylonia. 


cycle or measurement of time used by We have inserted a tai re) 
the Babylonians, 3,600 years. its most appropriate p 

SFrom the “ Rocadian Hymn to See translation in 

Ishtar,” terra-cotta tablet numbered Past,” vol. v. p. 157. 


ace in the epic. 
“Records of the 


ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


For thee I open wide the golden gate 

Of happiness, and for thee love create 

To glorify the heavens and fill with joy 

The earth, its children with sweet love employ.” 
Thou gavest then the noblest melody 

And highest bliss—grand nature’s harmony. 
With love the finest particle is rife, 

And deftly woven in the woof of life, 

In throbbing dust or clasping grains of sand, 

In globes of glistening dew that shining stand 
On each pure petal, Love’s own legacies 

Of flowering verdure, Earth’s sweet panoplies ; 
By love those atoms sip their sweets and pass 
To other acoms, join and keep the mass 

With mighty forces moving through all space, 
*Tis thus on earth all life has found its place. 
Through Kisar,* Love came formless through the air 
In countless forms behold her everywhere! 

Oh, could we hear those whispering roses sweet, 
Three beauties bending till their petals meet, 
And blushing, mingling their sweet fragrance there 
In language yet unknown to mortal ear. 

Their whisperings of love from morn till night 
Would teach us tenderly to love the right. 

O Love, here stay! Let chaos not return! 
With hate each atom would its lover spurn 

In air above, on land, or in the sea, 

O World, undone and lost that loseth thee! 

For love we briefly come, and pass away 

For other men and maids; thus bring the day 
Of love continuous through this glorious life. 
Oh, hurl away those weapons fierce of strife! 
We here a moment, point of time but live, 

Too short is life for throbbing hearts to grieve. 
Thrice holy is that form that love hath kissed, 
And happy is that man with heart thus blessed. 
Oh, let not curses fall upon that head 

Whom love hath cradled on the welcome bed 


6 “ Kisar,”’ the consort or queen of Sar, father of all the gods. 


THE FALL OF ERECH 5 


Of bliss, the bosom of our fairest god, 
Or hand of love e’er grasp the venging rod. 


Oh, come, dear Zir-ri,? tune your lyres and lutes, 
And sing of love with chastest, sweetest notes, 
Of Accad’s goddess Ishtar, Queen of Love, 
And Izdubar, with softest measure move; 
Great Samas’ § son, of him dear Zir-ri sing! 

Of him whom goddess Ishtar warmly wooed, 
Of him whose breast with virtue was imbued. 
He as a giant towered, lofty grown, 

As Babil’s® great pa-te-si*® was he known, 
His arméd fleet commanded on the seas 

And erstwhile travelled on the foreign leas; 
His mother Ellat-gula* on the throne 

From Erech all Kardunia? ruled alone. 


COLUMN II 


THE FALL oF ERECH 


O Moon-god,' hear my cry! With thy pure light 
Oh, take my spirit through that awful night 
That hovers o’er the long-forgotten years, 

To sing Accadia’s songs and weep her tears! 
’Twas thus I prayed, when lo! my spirit rose 
On fleecy clouds, enwrapt in soft repose; 

And I beheld beneath me nations glide 

In swift succession by, in all their pride: 

The earth was filled with cities of mankind, 

And empires fell beneath a summer wind. 

The soil and clay walked forth upon the plains 
In forms of life, and every atom gains 

A place in man or breathes in animals; 

And flesh and blood and bones become the walls 


** Zir-ri’’ (pronounced “ zeer-ree’’), 
short form of “ Zi-aria,’”’ spirits of the 
running rivers—naiads or water-nymphs. 

8 “* Samas,”’ the sun-god. 

* Babil, Babylon; the Accadian name 
was “ Diu-tir,”? or ** Duran.” 

10 “* Pa-te-si,”” prince. 

a Ellat-guia ** one of the queens or 
sovereigns of Erech, supposed to have 


preceded Nammurabi or Nimrod on the 
throne. We _ have identified Izdubar 
herein with Nimrod. 

2“ Kardunia,” the ancient name of 
Babylonia. 

21“ O Moon-god, hear my cry!” (“ Siu 
lici unnini!’’) the name of the author 
of the Izdubar epic upon which our 
poem is based. 


ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


Oi palaces and cities, which soon fall 
To unknown dust beneath some ancient wall. 


All this I saw while guided by the stroke 


Of unseen pinions: 


Then amid the smoke 
That rose o’er burning cities, I beheld 
White Khar-sak-kur-ra’s ? brow arise that held 
The secrets of the gods—that felt the prore 
Of Khasisadra’s ark; I heard the roar 
Of battling elements, and saw the waves 
That tossed above mankind’s commingled graves. 
The mighty mountain as some sentinel 
Stood on the plains alone; and o’er it fell 
A halo, bright, divine; its summit crowned 
With sunbeams, shining on the earth around 
And o’er the wide expanse of plains ;—below 
Lay Khar-sak-kal-ama * with light aglow, 
And nestling far away within my view 
Stood Erech, Nipur, Marad, Eridu, 
And Babylon, the tower-city old, 
In her own splendor shone like burnished gold. 
And lo! grand Erech in her glorious days 
Lies at my feet. I see a wondrous maze 
Of vistas, groups, and clustering columns round, 
Within, without the palace ;—from the ground 
Of outer staircases, massive, grand, 
Stretch to the portals where the pillars stand. 
A thousand carvéd columns reaching high 
To silver rafters in an azure sky, 
And palaces and temples round it rise 
With lofty turrets glowing to the skies, 
And massive walls far spreading o’er the plains, 
Here live and move Accadia’s courtly trains, 
And see! the pit-u-dal-ti * at the gates, 
And masari® patrol and guard the streets! 


2“ Khar - sak-kur-ra,” the Deluge 
mountain on which the ark of Khasi- 
sadra (the Accadian Noah) rested. 

8“ Khar-sak-kal-ama ” is a city men- 
tioned in the Izdubar epic, and was 
probably situated at the base of Khar- 
sak-kur-ra, now cailed Mount Elwend. 


The same mountain is sometimes called 
the “ Mountain of the World” in the 
inscriptions, where the gods were sup- 
posed to sometimes reside. 
« “ Pit-u-dal-ti,” openers of the gates. 
5 “* Masari,”’ guards of the great 
gates of the city, etc. 


THE FALL OF ERECH 7 


And yonder comes a kis-ib, nobleman, 

With a young prince; and see! a caravan 

Winds through the gates! With men the streets are filled ! 
And chariots, a people wise and skilled 

In things terrestrial, what science, art, 

Here reign! With laden ships from every mart 
The docks are filled, and foreign fabrics bring 
From peoples, lands, where many an empire, king, 
Have lived and passed away, and naught have left 
In history or song. Dread Time hath cleft 

Us far apart; their kings and kingdoms, priests 
And bards are gone, and o’er them sweep the mists 
Of darkness backward spreading through all time, 
Their records swept away in every clime. 

Those alabaster stairs let us ascend, 

And through this lofty portal we will wend. 

See! richest Sumir rugs amassed, subdue 

The tiléd pavement with its varied hue, 

Upon the turquoise ceiling sprinkled stars 

Of gold and silver crescents in bright pairs! 

And gold-fringed scarlet curtains grace each door, 
And from the inlaid columns reach the floor: 
From golden rods extending round the halls, 
Bright silken hangings drape the sculptured walls. 


But part those scarlet hangings at the door 

Of yon grand chamber! tread the antique floor! 
Behold the sovereign on her throne of bronze, 
While crouching at her feet a lion fawns; 

The glittering court with gold and gems ablaze 
With ancient splendor of the glorious days 

Of Accad’s sovereignty. Behold the ring 

Of dancing beauties circling while they sing 
With amorous forms in moving melody, 

The measure keep to music’s harmony. 

Hear! how the music swells from silver lute 
And golden-stringeéd lyres and softest flute 

And harps and tinkling cymbals, measured drums, 
While a soft echo from the chamber comes. 


8 ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


But see! the sovereign lifts her jewelled hand, 
The music ceases at the Queen’s command; 
And lo! two chiefs in warrior’s array, 

With golden helmets plumed with colors gay, 
And golden shields, and silver coats of mail, 
Obeisance make to her with faces pale, 
Prostrate themselves before their sovereign’s throne; 
In silence brief remain with faces prone, 

Till Ellat-gula® speaks: “ My chiefs, arise! 
What word have ye for me? what new surprise? ” 
Tur-tau-u,’ rising, says, “O Dannat * Queen! 
Thine enemy, Khum-baba ® with Rim-siu 1° 
With clanging shields, appears upon the hills, 
And Elam’s host the land of Sumir fills.” 

“‘ Away, ye chiefs! sound loud the nappa-khu!? 
Send to their post each warrior bar-ru!” ? 

The gray embattlements rose in the light 

That lingered yet from Samas’® rays, ere Night 
Her sable folds had spread across the sky. 
Thus Erech stood, where in her infancy 

The huts of wandering Accads had been built 
Of soil, and rudely roofed by woolly pelt 
O’erlaid upon the shepherd’s worn-out staves, 
And yonder lay their fathers’ unmarked graves. 
Their chieftains in those early days oft meet 
Upon the mountains where they Samas greet, 
With their rude sacrifice upon a tree 

High-raised that their sun-god may shining see 
Their offering divine; invoking pray 

For aid, protection, blessing through the day. 


8“ Ellat-gula,” the queen of Erech, 
the capital of Babylonia. 

7“ Tur-tan-u’’ was the army officer 
or general who in the absence of the 
sovereign took the supreme command 
of the army, and held the highest rank 
next to the queen or king. 

8“ Dannat ”’ (the ‘ Powerful Lady ’”’) 
was a title applied to the Queen, the 
mother of Izdubar (Sayce’s ed. Smith’s 
** Chal. Acc. of Gen.,” p. 184). We 
have here identified her with Ellat-gula, 
the Queen of Babylon, who preceded 
Ham-murabi or Nammurabi, whom the 
inscriptions indicate was an Accadian. 
The latter we have identified with Nim- 


rod, following the suggestion of Mr. 
George Smith. 

®**Khumbaba” was_ the giant 
Elamitic king whom Izdubar over- 
threw. We identify him with the King 
of the Elamites who, allied with Rim- 
sin or Rimagu, was overthrown by 
Nammurabi or Izdubar. 

10 “* Rim-siu,”’ above referred to, who 
overthrew Uruk, or _Karrak, or Erech. 
He was King of Larsa, immediately 
south of Erech. 

1“ Nap-pa-khu,”’ war-trumpet. 

2** Bar-ru,”? army officer. 

& “* Samas,”’ the sun-god. 


THE FALL OF ERECH 9 


Beneath these walls and palaces abode 

The spirit of their country—each man trod 
As if his soul to Erech’s weal belonged, 

And heeded not the enemy which thronged 
Before the gates, that now were closed with bars 


Of bronze thrice fastened. 


See the thousand cars 


And chariots arrayed across the plains! 

The marching hosts of Elam’s arméd trains, 

The archers, slingers in advance amassed, 

With black battalions in the centre placed, 

With chariots before them drawn in line, 
Bedecked with brightest trappings iridine, 

While gorgeous plumes of Elam’s horses nod 
Beneath the awful sign of Elam’s god. 

On either side the mounted spearsmen far 
Extend; and all the enginery of war 

Are brought around the walls with fiercest shouts, 
And from behind their shields each archer shoots. 


Thus Erech is besieged by her dread foes, 

And she at last must feel Accadia’s woes, 

And feed the vanity of conquerors, 

Who boast o’er victories in all their wars. 

Great Subartu * has fallen by Sutu ® 

And Kassi,® Goim? fell with Lul-lu-bu,® 

Thus Khar-sak-kal-a-ma ® all Eridu 1° 

O’erran with Larsa’s allies; Subartu 

With Duran? thus was conquered by these sons 
Of mighty Shem and strewn was Accad’s bones 
Throughout her plains, and mountains, valleys fair, 
Unburied lay in many a wolf’s lair. 


«** Subartu ” is derived from the Ac- 
cadian “‘subar” (‘‘ high”), applied by 
the Accadians to the highlands of Aram 
or Syria. It is probable that all these 
countries, viz., Subartu, Goim, Lullubu, 
Kharsak-kalama, Eridu, and Duran, 
were at one time inhabited by the Ac- 
cadians, until driven out by the 
Semites. : 

5 ** Sutu ” is supposed to refer to the 
Arabians. ‘ 

6 “* Kassi,” the Kassites or Elamites. 
The Kassi inhabited the northern part 
of Elam. 


7* Goim,” or ‘ Gutium,” supposed 
by Sir Henry Rawlinson to be. the 
oyim of Gen. xiv, ruled by Tidal or 
Turgal (‘‘ the Great Son ”’). 

é“ Lul-lu-bu,” a country northward 
of Mesopotamia and Nizir. 

® “ Kharsak-kala-ma,” the city su 
osed to lie at the base of Kharsak- 
urra, or Mount Nizir, or Mount EI- 
wend. The same city was afterward 
called Ecbatana. 

20 ** Eridu,” the land of Ur, or Erech, 
1** Duran,” Babylonia. 


10 ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


Oh, where is Accad’s chieftain Izdubar, 
Her mightiest unrivalled prince of war? 


The turrets on the battlemented walls 
Swarm with skilled bowmen, archers—from them falls 
A cloud of wingéd missiles on their foes, 
Who swift reply with shouts and twanging bows; 
And now amidst the raining death appears 
The scaling ladder, lined with glistening spears, 
But see! the ponderous catapults now crush 
The ladder, spearsmen, with their mighty rush 
Of rocks and beams, nor in their fury slacked 
As if a toppling wall came down intact 
Upon the maddened mass of men below. 
But other ladders rise, and up them flow 
The tides of arméd spearsmen with their shields; 
From others bowmen shoot, and each man wields 
A weapon, never yielding to his foe, 
For death alone he aims with furious blow. 
At last upon the wall two soldiers spring, 
A score of spears their corses backward fling. 
But others take their place, and man to man, 
And spear to spear, and sword to sword, till ran 
The walls with slippery gore; but Erech’s men 
Are brave and hurl them from their walls again. 
And now the battering-rams with swinging power 
Commence their thunders, shaking every tower; 
And miners work beneath the crumbling walls, 
Alas! before her foemen Erech falls. 
Vain are suspended chains against the blows 
Of dire assaulting engines. 

Ho! there goes 
The eastern wall with Erech’s strongest tower! 
And through the breach her furious foemen pour: 
A wall of steel withstands the onset fierce, 
But thronging Elam’s spears the lines soon pierce, 
A band of chosen men there fight to die, 
Before their enemies disdain to fly; 
The masari* within the breach thus died, 


2°* Masari,”? guards of the palace, etc. 


THE FALL OF ERECH II 


And with their dying shout the foe defied. 

The foes swarm through the breach and o’er the walls, 
And Erech in extremity loud calls 

Upon the gods for aid, but prays for naught, 
While Elam’s soldiers, to a frenzy wrought, 
Pursue and slay, and sack the city old 

With fiendish shouts for blood and yellow gold. 
Each man that falls the foe decapitates, 

And bears the reeking death to Erech’s gates. 
The gates are hidden ’neath the pile of heads 
That climbs above the walls, and outward spreads 
A heap of ghastly plunder bathed in blood. 
Beside them calm scribes of the victors stood, 
And careful note the butcher’s name, and check 
The list; and for each head a price they make. 
Thus pitiless the sword of Elam gleams 

And the best blood of Erech flows in streams. 
From Erech’s walls some fugitives escape, 

And others in Euphrates wildly leap, 

And hide beneath its rushes on the bank 

And many ’neath the yellow waters sank. 


The harper of the Queen, an agéd man, 

Stands lone upon the bank, while he doth scan 
The horizon with anxious, careworn face, 

Lest ears profane of Elam’s hated race 

Should hear his strains of mournful melody: 
Now leaning on his harp in memory 

Enwrapt, while fitful breezes lift his locks 

Of snow, he sadly kneels upon the rocks 

And sighing deeply clasps his hands in woe, 
While the dread past before his mind doth flow. 
A score and eight of years have slowly passed 
Since Rim-a-gu, with Elam’s host amassed, 
Kardunia’s ancient capital had stormed. 

The glorious walls and turrets are transformed 
To a vast heap of ruins, weird, forlorn, 

And Elam’s spears gleam through the coming morn. 
From the sad sight his eyes he turns away, 


12 ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


His soul breathes through his harp while he doth play 
With bended head his agéd hands thus woke 
The woes of Erech with a measured stroke: 


O Erech! dear Erech, my beautiful home, 
Accadia’s pride, O bright land of the bard, 
Come back to my vision, dear Erech, oh, come! 
Fair land of my birth, how thy beauty is marred! 
The horsemen of Elam, her spearsmen and bows, 
Thy treasures have ravished, thy towers thrown 
down, 
And Accad is fallen, trod down by her foes. 
Oh, where are thy temples of ancient renown? 


Gone are her brave heroes beneath the red tide, 
Gone are her white vessels that rode o’er the main, 

No more on the river her pennon shall ride, 
Gargan-na is fallen, her people are slain. 

Wild asses * shall gallop across thy grand floors, 
And wild bulls shall paw them and hurl the dust 

high 

Upon the wild cattle that flee through her doors, 

And doves shall continue her mournful slave’s cry. 


Oh, where are the gods of our Erech so proud, 
As flies they are swarming away from her halls, 
The Sedu * of Erech are gone as a cloud, 
As wild fowl are flying away from her walls. 
Three years did she suffer, besieged by her foes, 
Her gates were thrown down and defiled by the feet 
Who brought to poor Erech her tears and her woes, 
In vain to our Ishtar with prayers we entreat. 


To Ishtar bowed down doth our Bel thus reply, 
“Come, Ishtar, my queenly one, hide all thy tears, 
Our hero, Tar-u-man-i izzu Sar-ri,® 
In Kipur is fortified with his strong spears. 
*See Sayce’s_ translation in the 5 * Tar-u-mani izzu Sarri,’’ son of the 


a Chal. Acc. of Gen.,”’ by Smith, p. 193. faith, the fire of kings, or fire-king. 
** Sedu,” spirits of prosperity. 


THE RESCUE OF ERECH BY IZDUBAR 13 


The hope of Kardunia,® land of my delight, 
Shall come to thy rescue, upheld by my hands, 
Deliverer of peoples, whose heart is aright, 
Protector of temples, shall lead his brave bands. 


Awake then, brave Accad, to welcome the day! 
Behold thy bright banners yet flaming on high, 

Triumphant are streaming on land and the sea! 
Arise, then, O Accad! behold the Sami!? 

Arranged in their glory the mighty gods come 

In purple and gold the grand Tam-u * doth shine 

Over Erech, mine Erech, my beautiful home, 
Above thy dear ashes, behold thy god’s sign! 


COLUMN III 
THE RESCUE OF ERECH By IZDUBAR 


Heabani, weary, eyes his native land, 

And on his harp now lays his trembling hand; 
The song has ended in a joyous lay, 

And yet, alas! his hands but sadly play: 
Unused to hope, the strings refuse their aid 
To tune in sympathy, and heartless played. 
Again the minstrel bows his head in woe, 

And the hot tear-drops from his eyelids flow, 
And chanting now a mournful melody, 

O’er Erech’s fall, thus sang an elegy: 


1 “ How long, O Ishtar, will thy face be turned, 

While Erech desolate doth cry to thee? 

Thy towers magnificent, oh, hast thou spurned? 
Her blood like water in Ul-bar,? oh, see! 

The seat of thine own oracle behold! 
The fire hath ravaged all thy cities grand, 

And like the showers of Heaven them all doth fold. 
O Ishtar! broken-hearted do I stand! 


6“ Kardunia,” the ancient name of the psalms of the Jewish bible, and I 


Babylon. believe it_ belongs to the Izdubar epic 
7 “* Sami,” heavens (plural). (W. A. I. IV. 19, No. rE also see 
*“* Tamu,” dawn or sunrise, day. ** Records of the Past,’’ vol. xi. p. 160). 
1The above elegy is an Assyrian 2“ Ul-bar,” Bel’s temple. 


fragment remarkably similar to one of 


14 ISHTAR AND IZBUBAR 


Oh, crush our enemies as yonder reed! 

For hopeless, lifeless, kneels thy bard to thee, 
And, oh! I would exalt thee in my need, 

From thy resentment, anger, oh, us free! 


With eyes bedimmed with tears, he careful scans 
The plain, ‘“ Perhaps the dust of caravans 

It is! But no!! I see long lines of spears! 

A warrior from the lifting cloud appears, 

And chariots arrayed upon the plain! 

And is the glorious omen not in vain? 

What! no?” He rubs his eyes in wild surprise, 
And drinks the vision while he loudly cries: 
“Oh, joy! our standards flashing from afar! 
He comes! he comes! our hero Izdubar!” 

He grasps his harp inspired, again to wake 

In song—the cry of battle now doth break. 


“ Nin-a-rad,* servant of our great Nin,* 
Shall lead our hosts to victory! 
God of the chase and war, o’er him, oh, shine! 
Tar-u-ma-ni iz-zu sar-ri! ® 


“ Let Elam fall! the cause of Accad’s woes, 

Revenge of Erech, be the cry! 

This land our father’s blessed, our king they chose, 
Tar-u-ma-ni iz-zu sar-ri! 

Our holy fathers sleep upon this plain, 
We conquer, or we here will die; 

For victory, then raise the cry, ye men! 
Tar-u-ma-ni iz-zu sar-ri!” 


The minstrel ceases, lifts his hands on high, 

And still we hear his joyful waning cry: 

Now echoed by yon hosts along the sky, 

“He comes! Tar-u-ma-ni iz-zu sar-ri! 

Great Accad’s hosts arrayed with spears and shields 
Are coming! see them flashing o’er the fields! 


8“ Nin-a-rad,” literally “servant of *“ Nin,” the god of the chase and 

ING Zi6r Nin-mar-ad,”” “Lord of the war, or lord. 4 

city of Marad. 5“ Tar-u-ma-ni izzu sar-ri,” “son of 
the faith, the fire-king.”’ 


THE RESCUE OF ERECH BY IZDUBAR 


And he! bright flashing as the god’s attire, 
Doth lead in burnished gold, our king of fire. 
His armor shines through yonder wood and fen, 
That tremble ‘neath the tread of arméd men. 
See! from his jewelled breastplate, helmet, fly 
The rays like Samas from the cloudless sky! 
How martially he rides his sable steed, 
That proudly treads and lifts his noble head, 
While eagerly he gallops down the line, 
And bears his princely load with porte divine; 
And now, along the plains there sounds afar 
The piercing bugle-note of Izdubar; 
For Erech’s walls and turrets are in view, 
And high the standards rise of varied hue. 
The army halts; the twanging bows are strung; 
And from their chariots the chieftains sprung. 
The wheeling lines move at each chief’s command, 
With chariots in front; 

On either hand 
Extend the lines of spears and cavalry, 
A wingéd storm-cloud waiting for its prey: 
And see! while Accad’s army ready waits, 
The enemy are swarming from the gates. 
The charge, from either host, the trumpets sound, 
And bristling chariots from each army bound: 
A cloud of arrows flies from Accad’s bows 
That hides the sun, and falls among their foes. 
Now roars the thunder of great Accad’s cars, 
Their brazen chariots as blazing stars 
Through Nuk-khu’s® depths with streams of blazing fire, 
Thus fall upon the foe with vengeful ire. 
The smoking earth shakes underneath their wheels, 
And from each cloud their thunder loudly peals. 
Thus Accad on their foes have fiercely hurled 
Their solid ranks with Nin-rad’s flag unfurled, 
The charging lines meet with a fearful sound, 
As tempests’ waves from rocks in rage rebound; 
The foe thus meet the men of Izdubar, 
While o’er the field fly the fierce gods of war. 


6“ Nuk-khu,” darkness (god of darkness). 


15 


16 ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


Dark Nin-a-zu7 her torch holds in her hand. 
With her fierce screams directs the gory brand; 
And Mam-mit® urges her with furious hand, 
And coiling dragons® poison all the land 

With their black folds and pestilential breath, 
In fierce delight thus ride the gods of death. 


The shouts of Accad mingle with the cries 

Of wounded men and fiery steeds, which rise 
From all the fields with shrieks of carnage, war, 
Till victory crowns the host of Izdubar. 

The chariots are covered with the slain, 

And crushed beneath lie dead and dying men, 
And horses in their harness wounded fall, 
With dreadful screams, and wildly view the wall 
Of dying warriors piling o’er their heads, 

And wonder why each man some fury leads; 
And others break across the gory plain 

In mad career till they the mountain gain; 

And snorting on the hills in wild dismay, 

One moment glance below, then fly away; 

Away from sounds that prove their masters, fiends, 
Away to freedom snuffing purer winds, 

Within some cool retreat by mountain streams, 
Where peacefully for them, the sun-light gleams. 
At last the foe is scattered o’er the plain, 

And Accad fiercely slays the flying men; 

When Izdubar beholds the victory won 

By Accad’s grand battalions of the sun, 

His bugle-call the awful carnage stays, 

Then loud the cry of victory they raise. 
7 ** Nin-a-zu,” god of fate and death. A ESEONe | gods of chaos 


8 “ Mam-mit,” or ‘‘ Mam-mi-tu,” god- death. 
dess of fate. 


and 


CORONATION OF IZDUBAR 14 


COLUMN IV 
CoRONATION OF IZDUBAR 


A crowd of maidens led a glorious van; 

With roses laden the fair heralds ran, 

With silver-throated music chant the throng, 

And sweetly sang the coronation song: 

And now we see the gorgeous cavalcade, 

Within the walls in Accad’s grand parade 

They pass, led by the maidens crowned with flowers, 
Who strew the path with fragrance ;—to the towers 
And walls and pillars of each door bright cling 

The garlands. Hear the maidens joyful sing! 


“Oh, shout the cry! Accadians, joyful sing 
For our Deliverer! Oh, crown him King! 

Then strew his path with garlands, tulips, rose, 
And wave his banners as he onward goes; 

Our mighty Nin-rad comes, oh, raise the cry! 
We crown Tar-u-ma-ni iz-zu sar-ri! 


Away to Samas’ temple grand, away! 
For Accad crowns him, crowns him there! 
He is our chosen Sar? this glorious day, 
Oh, send the Khanga? through the air! 


Then chant the chorus, all ye hosts above! 

O daughters, mothers, sing for him we love! 
His glory who can sing, who brings us joy? 
For hope and gladness all our hearts employ. 
He comes, our hope and strength in every war: 
We crown him as our king, our Izdubar! 


Away to Samas’ temple grand, away! 

For Accad crowns him, crowns him there! 
He is our chosen Sar this glorious day, 

Oh, send the Khanga through the air| 


Toward the temple filed the long parade, 
The nobles led while Accad’s music played; 


2 Sar,” king. 2“* Khanga,” chorus. 


18 ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


The harps and timbrels, barsoms, drums and flutes 
Unite with trumpets and the silver lutes. 
Surrounded by his chieftains rides the Sar 

In purple robes upon his brazen car. 

Bedecked with garlands, steeds of whitest snow 
The chariot draw in state with movement slow, 
Each steed led by a kisib, nobleman, 

A score of beauteous horses linked in span. 

The army follows with their nodding plumes, 

And burnished armor, trumpets, rolling drums, 
And glistening spears enwreathed with fragrant flowers, 
While scarfs are waving from the crowded towers, 
And shouts of joy their welcome loud proclaim, 
And from each lip resounds their monarch’s name. 


And now before the holy temple stands 
The chariot, in silence cease the bands. 
Around an altar stand the waiting priests, 
And held by them, the sacrificial beasts. 
The hero from his chair descends, 

And bowing to the priests, he lowly bends 
Before the sacred altar of the Sun, 

And prays to Samas, Accad’s Holy One. 


8“ © Samas, I invoke thee, throned on high! 
Within the cedars’ shadow bright thou art, 
Thy footing rests upon immensity ; 
All nations eagerly would seek thy heart. 
Their eyes have turned toward thee, O our Friend! 
Whose brilliant light illuminates all lands, 
Before thy coming all the nations bend, 
Oh, gather every people with thy hands! 
For thou, O Samas, knowest boundaries 
Of every kingdom, falsehood dost destroy, 
And every evil thought from sorceries 
Of wonders, omens, dreams that do annoy, 
And evil apparitions, thou dost turn 
To happy issue; malice, dark designs ; 
* One of the Accadian psalms is here ‘“* Records of the Past,” vol. xi. pl. 17, 


uoted from ‘‘ Chaldean Magic,” by 
enormant, pp. 185, 186. See also 


CORONATION OF IZDUBAR 19 


And men and countries in thy might o’erturn, 
And sorcery that every soul maligns. 
Oh, in thy presence refuge let me find! 
From those who spells invoke against thy King, 
Protect one! and my heart within thine, oh, bind! 
* Thy breath within mine inmost soul, oh, bring! 
That I with thee, O Samas, may rejoice. 
And may the gods who me created, take 
Thy hands and lead me, make thy will my choice, 
® Direct my breath, my hands, and of me make 
They servant, Lord of light of legions vast, 
O Judge, thy glory hath all things surpassed!” 


The King then rises, takes the sacred glass,® 
And holds it in the sun before the mass 

Of waiting fuel on the altar piled. 

The centring rays—the fuel glowing gild 
With a round spot of fire and quickly, spring 
Above the altar curling, while they sing! 


7“ Oh, to the desert places may it fly, 
This incantation holy! 
O spirit of the heavens, us this day 
Remember, oh, remember! 
O spirit of the earth, to thee we pray, 
Remember! Us remember! 


“O God of Fire! a lofty prince doth stand, 

A warrior, and son of the blue sea, 

Before the God of Fire in thine own land, 
Before thy holy fires that from us free 

Dread Darkness, where dark Nuk-khu reigns. 
Our prince, as monarch we proclaim, 

His destiny thy power maintains, 
Oh, crown his glory with wide fame! 


“ With bronze and metal thou dost bless 
All men, and givest silver, gold. 


* Literally, “ Beit into my marrow, 7Incantation to Fire (‘‘ Records of 
Lords of brea the Past,” vol. xi. p. 137). The Ac- 
5 Literally, ts wale the breath of my cadian and Assyrian text is found in 
mouth! ’” “C. I, W. A.,” vol. iv. pl. 14, and on 


® Sacred glass, sun-glass used to light tablet K. 49,002, in the British Museum. 
the sacred 


20 ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


The goddess with the horned face 
Did bless us with thee from of old. 
From dross thy fires change gold to purity; 
Oh, bless our fire-king, round him shine 
With Heaven’s vast sublimity! 
And like the earth with rays divine, 
As the bright walls of Heaven’s shrine.” 


COLUMN V 


ISHTAR AND HER MAIDS IN THE FAVORITE HAUNT OF 
IZDUBAR 


The king while hunting where a forest grows, 
Around sweet hyacinths and budding rose, 
Where a soft zephyr o’er them gently flows 
From the dark sik-ka-ti+ where Kharsak? glows; 
And Sedu ® softly dances on the leaves, 

And a rich odorous breath from them receives; 
Where tulips peep with heliotrope and pink, 
With violets upon a gleaming brink 

Of silver gliding o’er a water-fall 

That sings its purling treasures o’er a wall 

Of rugged onyx sparkling to the sea: 

A spot where Zir-ri* sport oft merrily, 

Where Hea’s® arm outstretched doth form a bay, 
Wild, sheltered, where his sea-daughters play; 
A jasper rock here peeps above the waves 

Of emerald hue; with them its summit laves. 


Around, above, this cool enchanting cove 

Bend amorous, spicy branches; here the dove 
Oft coos its sweetest notes to its own mate, 
And fragrance pure, divine, the air doth freight, 
To sport with gods no lovelier place is found, 
With love alone the mystic woods resound. 


1 Sik -ka-ti,’ narrow mountain 8“ Se-du,” a spirit of the earth, and 


gorges. } rivera: 205 ay 
2 Khar-sak,” the Deluge mountain, 4“ Zir-ri,”’ the spirits of the rivers, 
where the ark rested. water-nymphs. 
5 “* Hea,” the god of the ocean. 


ISHTAR IN FAVORITE HAUNT OF IZDUBAR 21 


Here witching Zi-na-ki® oft drag within 

The waves unwilling Zi-si;* here the din 

Of roars of sullen storms is never known 

When tempests make the mighty waters groan; 
Nor sound of strife is heard, but rippling rills, 
Or softest note of love, the breezes fills. 


And here the king in blissful dreams oft lies 
*Mid pure ambrosial odors, and light flies 
The tune in bliss; away from kingly care, 
And hollow splendor of the courtly glare; 
Away from triumphs, battle-fields afar, 

The favorite haunt of huntsman Izdubar. 


The Queen of Love the glowing spot surveys, 
And sees the monarch where he blissful lays; 
And watching till he takes his bow and spear 
To chase the wild gazelles now browsing near, 
She, ere the king returns, near by arrives 

With her two maids; with them for love connives, 
Joy and seduction thus voluptuous fly 

Her Samkhatu,* Kharimtu® from the sky, 

As gently, lightly as a spirit’s wing 

Oft carries gods to earth while Sedu sing. 
Thus, they, with lightest step, expectant stood 
Within this lovely spot beneath the wood. 


Their snowy limbs they bare, undraped now stand 
Upon the rock at Ishtar’s soft command. 

Like marble forms endued with life they move, 
And thrill the air with welcome notes of love. 
The its-tu-ri Same mut-tab-ri ?° sang 

Their sweetest notes, and the Khar-san-u’ rang 
With songs of thrushes, turtle-doves and jays, 
And linnets, with the nightingale’s sweet lays, 
Goldfinches, magpies and the wild hoopoes ; 

With cries of green-plumed parrots and cuckoos, 


6“ Zi-na-ki,” pronounced “ zee-na- 9“ Kha- -rima- tu,’’ one of the maids 
kee, #4 spirits "of purity. of Ishtar, “ Seduction.” 
be Zi. -si,”? corn- ode, or spirits of the 10 ** Tts-tu-ri Same mut- tab ri,” “ the 
corn wingéd birds of heaven.” 
8 “ Sam-kha- tu,” one of the maids of 1 ** Khar-san-u,” forest. 


Ishtar, ‘‘ Joy.’ 


ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


Pee-wits and sparrows join the piercing cries 
Of gorgeous herons, while now upward flies 

The eagle screaming, joyful spreads his wings 
Above the forest; and the woodchuck rings 

A wild tattoo upon the trees around; 

And humming-birds whirr o’er the flowering ground 
In flocks, and beat the luscious laden air 

With emerald and gold, and scarlet, where 
These perfect forms with godly grace divine, 
In loveliness upon the rock recline. 

Sweet joy is slender formed, with bright black eyes 
That sparkle oft and dance with joy’s surprise; 
Seduction, with her rare voluptuous form, 
Enchanteth all till wildest passions warm 

The blood and fire the eye beneath her charm; 
All hearts in heaven and earth she doth disarm. 
The Queen with every perfect charm displayed 
Delights the eye, and fills the heart, dismayed 
With fear, lest the bright phantom may dissolve 
To airy nothingness, till fierce resolve 

Fills each who her beholds, while love doth dart 
From liquid eyes and captivates the heart. 

She is the queen who fills the earth with love 
And reigns unrivalled in her realms above. 


Beware, ye hearts! beware! who feel the snare 
Of Ishtar, lest ye tread upon the air; 

When ye her rosy chain of fragrance wear, 

When blindness strikes the eye, and deaf the ear 
Becomes, and heartstrings only lead you then, 
Till ye return to common sense again; 

Enthralled mayhap and captive led in chains, 

Ye then will leisure have to bear your pains; 

Or if perchance a joy hath come to thee, 
Through all thy joyous life, then happy be! 


IZDUBAR FALLS IN LOVE WITH ISHTAR 


COLUMN VI 


23 


IZDUBAR FALLS IN Love witH ISHTAR, THE QUEEN OF LovE 


The hour has come when Izdubar will seek 

The cool enchantment of the cove, and slake 

His thirst with its sweet waters bubbling pure, 
Where Love has spread for him her sweetest lure, 
The maids expectant listening, watch and wait 
His coming; oft in ecstacies they prate 

O’er his surprise, and softly sport and splash 
The limpid waves around, that glowing flash 
Like heaps of snowy pearls flung to the light 

By Hea’s? hands, his Zir-ri? to delight. 

And now upon the rock each maid reclines, 
While Ishtar’s form beneath them brightly shines; 
Beside the fountain stands the lovely god, 

The graceful sovereign of Love’s sweet abode. 


“ He comes; the shrubs of yonder jasmine near 
Are rustling, oh, he comes! my Izdubar!”’ 

And thus her love she greets: “ Why art thou here? 
Thou lovely mortal! king art thou, or seer? 

We reck not which, and welcome give to thee; 
Wouldst thou here sport with us within the sea? ”’ 
And then, as if her loveliness forgot, 

She quickly grasped her golden locks and wrought 
Them round her form of symmetry with grace 
That well became a god, while o’er her face 

Of sweetest beauty blushes were o’erspread ; 
“Thou see-est only Nature’s robe,” she said. 

“Tis all I wish while sporting with my maids, 
And all alone no care have we for jades; 

And if with thee we can in truth confide, 

We here from all the world may cosey hide.” 

She hurls a glance toward him, smiling naive, 
Then bounding from the rock, peeps from a wave; 
The waters fondling her surround, embrace 

Her charms; and now emerging with rare grace, 


1 Hea,” god of the ocean. 
2“ Zir-ri,” spirits of the river, the sea-daughters of Hea. 


24 ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


She turning says: 

“Make haste, my hearts! 
Come forth! attend your queen!” and then she parts 
The azure waves, to where, in dumb surprise, 
The King enchanted stands, and fondly eyes 
The Queen divine, while fascinating thrills 
Sweep wildly through his breast; as fragrance fills 
The rose-tree groves, or gardens of the gods, 
Or breezes odorous from the Blest Abodes. 
A longing, rising, fills his inmost soul 
For this sweet queen who offers him a goal 
His stormy life has never known, since he, 
His loved one lost beneath the raging sea; 
And all his calm resolves to seek no more 
A joy which passed and left his heart forlore, 
Are breaking, vanishing beneath her charms, 
Dissolving as the mists, when sunlight warms 
The earth, then scorching drinks the rising dews; 
Till he at last no longer can refuse, 
And love directs while he the goddess greets: 
“Such wondrous beauty here no mortal meets; 
But come, thou Zir-ru,? with me sweetly rest; 
Primroses, gentians, with their charms invest 
My mossy couch, with odorous citron-trees 
And feathery palms above; and I will please 
Thee with a mortal’s love thou hast not known; 
In pure love mingling let our spirits run, 
For earthly joys are sweeter than above, 
That rarest gift, the honeyed kiss of love 
On earth, is sweeter bliss than gods enjoy; 
Their shadowy forms with love cannot employ 
Such pleasure as a mortal’s sweet caress. 
Come, Zi-ru, and thy spirit I will bless; 
The Mandrake* ripened golden, glows around; 
The fruit of Love is fragrant on the ground.” 


Amid the Dud’im® plants he now reclines, 
And to his welcome fate himself resigns; 
8“ Zir-ru,” water-nymph. or Chald. f‘M73" and Syr. NMI, the 


4 ** Mandrake,” the “ love-plant.” *love-plant ”’ , 
’ -plant’’ or mandrake; perhaps also 
®“Dud’im’”’ or ‘‘dudaim,” E\*8 3), — originally from ‘“ du-du” Po loukt oc ex, 


{ZDUBAR FALLS IN LOVE WITH ISHTAR 25 


The lovely queen beside him now doth lay, 

And leads his soul along the blissful way 

That comes to every heart that longs for love, 
When purest joy doth bless us from above; 
From her soft liquid eyes the love-light speaks, 
And her warm hands she lays in his, and wakes 
Beneath her touch a thrill of wild desire, 

Until his blood now seems like molten fire. 
Her eyes half closed begat a passion wild, 
With her warm breast, her loves hath beguiled ; 
She nearer creeps with hot and balmy breath, 
And trembling form aglow, and to him saith: 
“My lips are burning for a kiss, my love!” 

A prize like this, a heart of stone would move, 
And he his arms around her fondly placed 

Till she reclined upon his breast, embraced, 
Their lips in one long thrilling rapture meet. 
But hark! what are these strains above so sweet 
That float around, above, their love surround? 
An-nu-na-ci® from forests, mounts around, 
And from the streams and lakes, and ocean, trees, 
And all that haunt the godly place, to please 
The lovers, softly chant and dance around 

To cymbals, lyres until the rocks resound, 

Of goddess Ishtar chant, and Izdubar, 

The Queen of Love wed to the King of War. 
And he alarmed starts up and springs away, 
And furious cries, to Ishtar’s wild dismay: 


“ What meanest thou, thou wanton brazen thing? 
Wouldst thou on me the direst curses bring?” 
And lo! the goddess is transformed! the crown 
Of her own silver skies shines like the sun, 

And o’er her dazzling robes a halo falls; 

Her stately form with glory him appals, 

For Heaven’s dazzling splendor o’er her flows, 
With rays celestial; o’er her brow there glows 

A single star. 


39 (“particula’’), Arab. ‘possessorem Lex. Man. Heb. et Chald. et Lat., pp. 
designante,’’ et ex rad. Arab. "17 (“ aegro- an -206, and Park’s Heb, ac ” p. 113, 
tavit ’), or “3 or ‘‘amare.’’ See Simoni’s © 60 A retan -ci,” spirits of the earth. 


26 ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


“Have I embraced a god?” 
He horrified now cries; and she doth nod 
Assent. 
“But, oh! wilt thou thy queen forgive? 
I love thee! stay! oh, stay! my heart you grieve!” 


He springs beyond the mystic circling ring, 

And from their sight thus glides the angry King. 
Beneath the wood himself he doth disguise 

In tattered garments, on his steed he flies; 

And when he comes in sight of Erech’s gate, 
His beggar’s mantle throws aside; in state 

Again enrobed, composed his anxious face, 
Through Erech’s gates he rides with kingly grace; 
O’er his adventure thus the King reflects: 

“ Alas my folly leads, my life directs! 

’Tis true, the goddess hath seductive charms, 
E’en yet I feel her warm embracing arms. 
Enough! her love from me I’ll drive away; 
Alas! for me, is this unfruitful day!” 


TABLET II—COLUMN I 
IsHTAR’S MIDNIGHT COURTSHIP IN THE PALACE OF IZDUBAR. 


As Samas’ car sank in the glowing west, 

And Sin the moon-god forth had come full drest 
For starry dance across the glistening skies, 
The sound of work for man on earth now dies, 
And all betake themselves to sweet repose. 

The silver light of Sin above bright flows, 

And floods the figures on the painted walls, 
O’er sculptured lions, softly, lightly falls; 

Like grim and silent watch-dogs at the door 
They stand; in marble check their leaping roar. 
The King within his chamber went his way, 
Upon his golden jewelled couch he lay. 

The silken scarlet canopy was hung 

In graceful drapery and loosely clung 


ISHTAR’S MIDNIGHT COURTSHIP 


Around his couch, and purple damask cloths 
Embroidered with rare skill, preserved from moths 
By rich perfumes, to the carved lintel clung 

In graceful folds; thus o’er the entrance hung. 


Queen Ishtar softly comes, and o’er his dreams 
A mystic spell she draws, until it seems 
While half awake he lies, that she is yet 
Close nestling in his arms, as he had met 
Her in the wood, and with her there reclined, 
While her soft arms around him were entwined. 
Thus while he sleeps she hovers o’er his bed 
With throbbing heart, and close inclines her head 
Until her lips near touch the sleeping King’s, 
But daring not to kiss. 

She love thus brings, 
All through his dreams; until one misty night, 
While he yet restless tossed, the lovely sprite 
Sunk him to deeper sleep with her soft lyre 
While hanging o’er his couch consumed with fire 


That nestling around her heart-strings fiercely burned 


Until at last lulled by the strain he turned 
Upon his couch at rest, and she now lay 

Beside him closely, when she heard him say: 
“My love thou art, but canst not be!” No more 
He murmurs, then inflamed she sought the door. 
“‘Perchance the su-khu-li+ sleep not!” she said; 
And satisfied, turned where her lover laid; 

And to his royal couch she crept again; 

Her bliss will have despite of gods and men. 
Her hot and burning lips cannot resist 

The tempting treasure lying there, nor missed 
Shall be the dearest joys of love from her 

Who rules all hearts in Heaven, earth, and air. 
Her right divine that blessing sweet to take, 
She will assert, her burning thirst to slake. 


His couch the Heavenly Queen of Love now graces, 
And on his breast her glorious head she places; 


1 Su-khu-li,” guards of the palace. 


37 


28 ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


Embracing him, she softly through her lips 
And his, the sweetest earthly nectar sips, 
While he in sleep lies murmuring of love, 
And she in blissful ecstasy doth move. 
Her lips to his, she wildly places there, 
Until to him it seems a fond nightmare. 


And thus, against his will, she fondly takes 
What he her shall deny when he awakes, 

The stolen kisses both the lovers thrill: 
Unquenched her warm desire would kiss him still, 
But his hot blood now warms him in his dream 
Which is much more to him than it doth seem; 
And clasping her within convulsing arms, 
Receives a thrill that all his nerves alarms, 

And wakes him from the dreams she had instilled. 
“What means this fantasy that hath me filled, 
And spirit form that o’er my pillow leans; 

I wonder what this fragrant incense means? 
Oh, tush! ’tis but an idle, wildering dream, 

But how delightful, joyous it did seem! 

Her beauteous form it had, its breath perfume; 
Do spirit forms such loveliness assume? ” 


The goddess yet dares not her form reveal, 
And quickly she herself doth now conceal 
Behind the damask curtains at the door. 
When he awoke, sprang to the chamber floor, 
As his own maid the queen herself transforms, 
Says entering in haste: 

“What wild alarms 
Thee, Sar?” and then demure awaits reply, 
In doubt to hear or to his bosom fly. 
“My maid art thou? ’Tis well, for I have dreamed 
Of spirits, as a Zi-ru fair it seemed.” 


THE KING'S SECOND DREAM 29 


COLUMN II 


Tue Kinc’s SECOND DREAM AND EARLY RIDE UPON SUMIR’S 
PLAIN, AND HAND-TO-HAND CONFLICT ON THE BANKS OF 
THE EUPHRATES 


The night is fleeing from the light of dawn, 

Which dimly falls upon the palace lawn; 

The King upon his royal dum-kii* sleeps, 

And to his couch again Queen Ishtar creeps. 

In spite his dream to dismal thoughts she turns, 
Her victim tosses, now with fever burns: 

He wildly starts, and from his dum-kli springs, 
While loud his voice throughout the palace rings: 
“Ho! vassals! haste to me! your King!” he cries, 
And stamping fiercely while his passions rise. 

The sukhu-li® and masari* rush in: 

“ What trouble, Sar? have foes here come within?” 
Then searching around they in his chamber rush, 
And eagerly aside the curtains push. 

The King yet paces on the floor with strides 
That show the trouble of his mind, and chides 
Them all as laggards; “ Soon the sun will rise: 
My steed prepared bring hence!” he turning cries. 
He mounts and gallops through the swinging gates, 
Nor for attendance of his vassals waits. 

Nor turns his face toward the nam-za-kiu,* 

Who quickly opened for the King to fly 

Without the gates; across the plains he rides 
Away unmindful where his steed he guides. 

The horse’s hoofs resound upon the plain 

As the lone horseman with bewildered brain, 

To leave behind the phantoms of the night, 

Rides fiercely through the early morning light, 
Beyond the orange orchards, citron groves, 

’Mid feathery date-palms he reckless roves. 


é 
1“ Dum-khi,’”’ couch. “ Masari,” guards of the palace. 
ine Su-khu-li rabi,” attendants of the un Nam-za-ki,” openers of the gates. 
ing. 


19 


30 ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


The fields of yellow grain mid fig-trees flash 
Unseen, and prickly pears, pomegranates, dash 

In quick succession by, till the white foam 

From his steed’s mouth and quiv’ring flanks doth come; 
Nor heeds the whitened flowing mane, but flies, 
While clouds of dust him follow, and arise 

Behind him o’er the road like black storm clouds, 
While Zu® the storm-bird onward fiercely goads 
The seven ® raven spirits of the air, 

And Nus-ku 7 opens wide the fiery glare 

Of pent-up lightnings for fierce Gibil’s * hand, 
Who hurls them forth at Nergal’s ® stern command, 
And Rimmon ?° rides triumphant on the air, 

And Ninazu?* for victims doth prepare, 

The King rides from the road into the wild, 

Nor thought of danger, his stern features smiled 
As the worn steed from a huge lion shied, 

Which turning glanced at them and sprang aside; 
Now Zi-pis-au-ni ? fly before the King. 

And yellow leopards through the rushes spring. 
Upon Euphrates’ banks his steed he reins, 

And views the rosy wilds of Sumir’s plains. 


He looked toward the east across the plain 

That stretched afar o’er brake and marshy fen, 
And clustering trees that marked the Tigris’ course; 
And now beyond the plain o’er fields and moors, 
The mountain range of Zu? o’er Susa’s land 

Is glowing ’neath the touch of Samas’ hand; 

For his bright face is rising in the east, 

And shifting clouds from sea and rising mist, 

The robes of purple, violet and gold, 


5“ Zu,” the divine bird of the storm- 
cloud, the god worshipped by Izdubar, 
the god who stole the tablets of 
heaven. i 

@The seven wicked spirits in the 
form of men with faces of ravens. 

7 “* Nus-ku,” the gate-keeper of thun- 


der. 

8 “ Gibil,” the god of fire and spells 
and witchcraft. _ 

*“ Ner-gal,” director of the storms, 
the giant King of War, the strong be- 
getter. 


10 “ Rimmon,” the god of storms and 
hurricanes. 

“* Nin-a-zu,”’ the goddess of fate and 
death. | 

3 ** Zi-pis-au-ni,’ 
or reeds. 

8 Mountain range of Zu. The ancient 
name is unknown, but as Susa takes 
its name from Zu, the divine bird of 
the storm-cloud, we have given the 
mountains of Susiana their probable 
ancient name. 


> 


spirits of the papyri, 


THE KING'S HAND-TO-HAND CONFLICT 31 


With rosy tints the form of Samas fold. 
The tamarisk and scarlet mistletoe, 
With green acacias’ golden summits glow, 
And citron, olives, myrtle, climbing vine, 
Arbutus, cypress, plane-tree rise divine; 
The emerald verdure, clad with brilliant hues, 
With rose-tree forests quaffs the morning dews. 
The King delighted bares his troubled brow, 
In Samas’ golden rays doth holy bow. 
But see! a shadow steals along the ground! 
And trampling footsteps through the copses sound, 
And Izdubar, his hand placed on his sword, 
Loud cries: 
“Who cometh o’er mine Erech’s sward?” 
An armed warrior before him springs ; 
The King, dismounted, his bright weapon swings. 
“°Tis I, Prince Dib-bara,* Lord Izdubar, 
And now at last alone we meet in war; 
My soldiers you o’erthrew upon the field, 
But here to Nuk-khu’s® son thine arm shall yield! 
The monarch eyes the warrior evil-born, 
And thus replies to him with bitter scorn: 
“ And dost thou think that Samas’ son shall die 
By a vile foe who from my host did fly? 
Or canst thou hope that sons of darkness may 
The Heaven-born of Light and glory slay? 
As well mayst hope to quench the god of fire, 
But thou shalt die if death from me desire.” 
The giant forms a moment fiercely glared, 
And carefully advanced with weapons bared, 
Which flash in the bright rays like blades of fire, 
And now in parry meet with blazing ire. 
Each firmly stood and rained their ringing blows, 
And caught each stroke upon their blades, till glows 
The forest round with sparks of fire that flew 
Like blazing meteors from their weapons true; 
4“ Dib-bara ” (‘‘ the darkening one ’’) 5“ Nuk-hu,” or “ Nuk-khu,” the god 
the son of Nuk-khu. He is supposed of darkness and slee . He is some 


to have been the viceroy of Khumbaba, times called ‘* Cus-u. 
and led the attack upon Erech. 


32 ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


And towering in their rage they cautious sprung 
Upon each, foiled, while the deep Suk-ha* rung. 
At last the monarch struck a mighty blow, 
His foeman’s shield of gold, his blade cleft through; 
And as the lightning swung again his sword, 
And struck the chieftain’s blade upon the sward, 
A Sedu springs from out the tangled copse, 
And at his feet the sword still ringing drops. 
The King his sword placed at his foeman’s throat 
And shouted: 

“ Hal-ca™ to yon waiting boat! 
Or I will send thy body down this stream! 
Ca 1s-kab-bu! va kal-bu!*® whence you came!” 
The chief disarmed now slunk away surprised, 
And o’er the strength of Sar-dan-nu ® surmised. 
The King returns, and rides within the gate 
Of Erech, and the council entered late. 


COLUMN III 


IzpuBAR RELATES His SEconp DREAM To His SEERs, WHO 
CANNOT INTERPRET IT 


The counsellors assembled round the throne 
Within the council halls of zam-at‘ stone, 
Now greet their monarch, and behold his face 
With trouble written on his brow, and trace 
Uneasiness within that eagle eye, 

While he with stately tread, yet wearily 

His throne approached; he turned to the mu-di,? 
And swept a glance upon his khas-iz-i.° 

Uneasy they all eyed his troubled face, 

For he had ridden at a furious pace. 

The abult* had told them on that morn, 

How he across the plains had wildly torn 


¢** Suk-ha,” wood or grove, or 3 ** Sar-dan-nu,” the great King. 
forest. 1“ Zam-at ’’ stone, diamond, crystal 
as” Hal-cal*) Gol” or lapis lazuli. 
® “Ca is-kab-bu! va kal-bu! ” ‘“ Thou 2‘ Mu-di,” seers. 
fool and dog!” “Ca” (‘thou 0 is 8 “* Khas-1-zi,”” counsellors. 


the short form of “ cat-ta ” Dies caa’ 


generally it appears as “ at-ta.” ; «* Ab-u-li,” guard of the great gates 


of the city. 


IZDUBAR RELATES HIS DREAM TO HIS SEERS 33 


To drive away some vision of the night. 

One asked, “ Hath our Sardan-nu’s dreams been light? 
Or hath dread phantoms o’er thy pillow hung? 
For trouble on thy countenance hath clung.” 
The monarch startled at the question eyes 

The councillor, and to him thus replies: 

“°Tis true, my counsellors and wisest men, 

I dreamed a fearful dream Sat mu-si;® when 

I have disclosed it, if one clear reveals 

Its meaning all and naught from me conceals, 
On him will I the greatest wealth bestow: 

I will ennoble him, and the sib-zu ® 

A ku-bar-ra* for him shall rich prepare; 

As my tur-tan-u ® he shall be, and seer, 

Decked with a golden chain shall next preside 
At every feast, and break his bread beside 
The King, and highest rank he shall attain 
"Mong counsellors, and mine own favor gain; 
And seven wives to him I will allow, 

And a grand palace. This as King I vow, 
The scribe it shall enroll above my seal 

As Erech’s Sar’s decree beyond repeal. 


I dreamed upon my dum-kiu® fast asleep, 

The stars from heaven fell from yonder deep 

To earth; and one, with fierceful heat my back 
Did pierce as molten fire, and left its track 

Of flames like some huge ball along my spine; 
And then transformed, it turned its face to mine; 
As some fierce god it glowed before my sight 
Till agony was lost in dread affright. 

I rooted stood, in terror, for its face 

Was horrible; I saw in its feet’s place 

A lion’s claws. It sprang, my strength it broke, 
And slew me, gloating over me! Awoke, 

I sprang, methought I was a corpse ka-ra?° 
5** Sat mu-si,” in the night-time, or ®“ Dum-khi ” or “ dun-khi,” couch. 


last night. ‘ 10 “* Ka-ra! va,” etc., ‘‘ Speak out! 
6 “ Sib-zu,”” embroiderer. : and if thou augurest the death of the 
7“ Ku-bar-ra,” robe of a prince. King, or if thou augurest life of ex- 
8“ Tur-tan-u,’’ next in rank to the tended years, I have spoken! Speak 
King. out! and cast the lots! may they be 


propitious with us! 


3 


34 ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


Va tal-ka mat sar, talka bu-la sha 
Ra-pas-ti sat-ti, ar-td-da! ka-ra, 
Va hal-li-ka! lik-ru-bu ki-mi-ta! 
The seers in silence stand, perplexed and think; 
But from the task at once the wisest shrink. 
The King each face soon read: 

“Ye tell me no?” 
And nodding all, concealed from him their woe, 
For they beheld within the dream some fate 
Impending o’er him born of godly hate, 
And durst not to their monarch prate their fears, 
For flatterers of kings are all his seers. 
The King impatient eyed them all with scorn, 
And hid his thoughts by wildest passions born; 
And then at last contemptuous to them said, 
“So all my seers of trouble are afraid? 
Or else in ignorance you turn away; 
Tis well! I sorely need a seer this day.” 
And they now prostrate fall before his throne, 
“Forgive thy seers!” one cries, “ O mighty One! 
For we this dreadful dream do fear portends 
Thy harm! a god some message to thee sends! 
We know not what, but fear for thee, our Sar, 
And none but one can augur it; afar 
He lives, Heabani should before the King 
Be brought from Za-Ga-bri?‘ the na-bu ? bring!” 
“°Tis well! Prince Zaidu for the hermit send, 
And soon this mystery your Sar will end.” 
The King distressed now to the temple goes 
To lay before the mighty gods his woes; 
This prayer recites to drive away bad dreams, 
While Samas’ holy altar brightly gleams: 
=“ O Samas! may my prayer bring me sweet rest, 
And may my Lord his favor grant to me: 
Annihilate the things that me invest! 


1 “* Za-Ga- bri, ” the noua of Zu, 2“ Na-bu,”’ prophet, seer. 
*“* Ga-bri’’ (“ mountains i ana La, ” 8 We have here quoted a prayer after 
another form of ‘ the divine bird a bad dream, the text of which is litho- 


66 


of the storm- ehcit UDhey were at one graphed in “C. I. W. A.,” vol.. iv. 
time called the mountains of Susa, now 66, 2, and is supposed to be an ancient 


the Kurdistan range of mountains. Accadian prayer. See “ Records of the 
The name we have given we believe to Past,” vol. ix. p. 1§1. 
be the probable ancient one. 


IZDUBAR RELATES HIS DREAM TO HIS SEERS 35 


This day, O God! distressed, I cry to thee! 

O goddess! be thou gracious unto me, 
Receive my prayer, my sins forgive I pray: 
My wickedness and will arrayed ’gainst thee. 
Oh, pardon me! O God, be kind this day, 

My groaning may the seven winds destroy, 
Clothe me with deep humility! receive 

My prayers, as winged birds, oh, may they fly 
And fishes carry them, and rivers weave 
Them in the waters on to thee, O God! 

As creeping things of the vast desert, cry 

I unto thee outstretched on Erech’s sod; 

And from the river’s lowest depths I pray; 
My heart cause thou to shine like polished gold, 
Though food and drink of Nin-a-zu * this day 
Be mine, while worms and death thy servant fold. 
Oh, from thine altar me support, protect, 

In low humility I pray, forgive! 

Feed me with joy, my dreams with grace direct; 
The dream I dreamed, oh favorable give 

To me its omen filled with happiness! 

May Mak-hir,® god of dreams, my couch invest! 
With visions of Bit-sag-gal my heart bless, 
The temple of the gods, of Nin, with rest 
Unbroken, and to Merodach I pray! 

The favoring one, to prosper me and mine: 

® Oh, may thy entering exalted be! 

And thy divinity with glory shine, 

And may our city shine with glowing meads, 
And all my people praise thy glorious deeds.” 
Now to Euphrates’ banks the Sar and seers 
Their footsteps turn to pray into the ears 

Of Hea,’ where, in white, a band of priests 
Drawn in a crescent, Izdubar invests. 

Now at the water’s edge he leans, his hands 


4“ Nin-a-zu,”’ the goddess of dark- vol. ix. p. 151. We have followed as 
ness and death. literally as possible the original, and 

5 “* Mak-hir,” the daughter of the sun, have given it its probable place in the 
and_ goddess of dreams. epic. 

* Literally, “‘he that shows favor.” 7 Hea, god of the ocean, the earth’s 
The above prayer was translated for surface, brightness, ete., and chief pro- 
the first time Rev. A. H. Sayce, tector of men. ~ 


-A., in the “ Records of the Past,’’ 


36 ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


Dips in the waves, and pours upon the sands 
The sparkling drops, while all a hymn descant 
To Hea, thus the incantation chant: 


“© chant our incantation to the waters pure, 
Euphrates’ waters flowing to the sea! 
Where Hea’s holy face shines bright on every shore, 
O Sabit * of Timatu ® to ye 
We pray! may your bright waters glowing shine 
As Hea’s face, and heaving breast divine! 


“ © Sabit, to your father Hea take our prayer ! 
And may Dao-ki-na,’® your bright mother, hear! 
With joy, oh shine, as peaceful as the sleeping light, 
O ever may your throbbing waves be bright. 
O spirit of the Heaven, hear! 
Remember us, Remember! 
O spirit of the earth, come near! 
Remember us, Remember! 
O hear us, Hea! hear us, dear Dao-ki-na ! 
Ca-ca-ma u ca-ca-ma u ca-ca-ma!”’ 


COLUMN IV 
HEABANI, THE HERMIT SEER 


Before a cave within the Gab-ri + wild, 

A seer is resting on a rock; exiled 

By his own will from all the haunts of men, 
Beside a pool within a rocky glen 

He sits; a turban rests upon his brow, 

And meets the lengthened beard of whitest snow. 
This morn an omen comes before his eyes, 

And him disturbs with a wild eagle’s cries 

That fierce attacks a fox before his cave; 

For he of beasts is the most cunning knave; 


8 Sab-it,” or “ Sabitu” (“ seven ’’), The Assyrian word is “ Amanu.” The 
the seven winds, gods of the abyss or original ‘‘ ca-ca-ma’’ (“‘ Amen ’’) con- 


ocean. : ee’, 
®“ Tiamatu,” the abyss or ocean. ud eras Won: erat yin 
yes Wag . iv. pl. 14; 


10 ce e 1. 9> ae oa Ts 9° ; 

2° “ Dao-ki-na "* or “ Dao-ci-na,” the “ Records of the Past,” vol. xi. p. 135. 
wife of Hea, and goddess of the ocean. 1“ Gab-ri,” mountains 

1“ Amen and Amen and Amen! ” 4 ; 


HEABANI, THE HERMIT SEER 


In wait upon the ground the fox hath lain 

To lure the bird, which flying deems him slain. 
He fiercely seizes it, as swooping down, 

The bird with its sly quarry would have flown; 
But the a-si ? quick seized it by the throat, 

While the wide wings with frantic fury smote 
The beast, and the sharp talons deeply tore 
Its foe—both greedy for the other’s gore. 


And lo! a voice from yonder sky resounds; 
Heabani to his feet now quickly bounds, 
And bowing, listens to the voice that comes 
In gentleness ; upon the winds it roams 

From yon blue heights like sighing of the trees; 
The seer in reverence upon his knees 

Now holy bares his head in Samas’ rays, 
While the soft voice to him thus gently says: 
“A messenger, Heabani, soon shall come 
With offers rich, to leave thy lonely home. 
This eagle sought its food and found a snare, 
The messenger will come from Izdubar, 

To learn from thee the meaning of his dream 
Which goddess Ishtar sent,—a snare for him, 
Then to the messenger prove not a snare, 

As yonder a-st doth the eagle tear.” 


The seer in fury tore his beard of snow 
And cried— 

“ Alas! my days shall end in woe 
Within these wilds my happiness is mine, 
No other joys I seek, my god divine; 
I would upon these rocks lie down to die, 
Upon my back here sleep eternally.” 
And Samas urging, to him thus replied: 
“ Heabani, hast thou not some manly pride? 
And thinkest thou no joy thou here wilt lose? 
The lovely Sam-kha-tu® the seer may choose. 
Arrayed in trappings of divinity 
And the insignia of royalty, 


2° A-si,” fox. 


37 


8“ Sam-kha-tu ” (‘‘ Joy ’’), one of the maids of Ishtar. 


ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


Heabani then in Erech shall be great, 

And live in happiness and royal state ; 

And Izdubar shall hearken, and incline 

His heart in warmest friendship, and recline 
With thee upon a couch of luxury, 

And seat thee on a throne of royalty, 

On his left hand, a crown shall grace thy brow. 
Kings of the earth shall to thee subject bow 
And kiss thy feet, and Izdubar shall give 

Thee wealth, and thou in luxury shalt live. 

In silence Erech’s men shall bow to thee, 

In royal raiment thou shalt happy be.” 
Heabani listened to the words that came 

From Samas, and his brow was lit with shame 
To hear the god of war urge him to go 

To earthly happiness—mayhap to woe; 

But he within his cave now listless turns 
When Samas ceased; then to his rock returns, 
And seats himself with calmness on his brow; 
His thoughts in happy memories now flow, 
And he recalls the blissful days of yore 

When he as seer lived on Euphrates’ shore, 

As the queen’s bard oft tuned a festive lay, 
While soft-eyed maidens dance and cymbals play. 


COLUMN V 
EXPEDITION OF ZAIDU IN SEARCH OF THE SEER 


Prince Zaidu on his steed now hastes away, 

Upon the plains he travelled all that day ; 

Next morn the Za-Gabri he slow ascends, 

Along the mountain sides the horseman wends 
Beneath the Eri-ni,? and cliffs, and sees 

The plains and mountains o’er the misty trees 
From the wild summit, and old Khar-sak glow 
Above them all with its twin crests of snow. 

He plunges in the wild to seek the cave; 

Three days unceasing sought young Zaidu brave, 


1“ Eri-ni,”’ cedar-trees. 


EXPEDITION OF ZAIDU 39 


And now at last within the glen he rode, 

And near approached Heabani’s wild abode. 
At last he sees the seer before his home, 

And with his monster? now toward him come, 
That walked subdued beside the hermit seer, 
Thus they upon the rocks above appear. 


“Why art thou here in warrior’s array?” 
The hermit cries. ‘“ I know thee not! away!” 


“O holy seer, ’tis Zaidu, from our Sar! 
The king of Erech, chieftain Izdubar.”’ 


“What seekest thou within my mountain lair? ” 
Heabani angry cried. “ What brings thee here?” 


“For thee! if true Heabani is thy name; 

I seek the hermit seer of wondrous fame. 

My king doth offer thee rich gifts of state, 

And sent me to thee here to make thee great. 
No empty honors do I seek, which void 

Of all true happiness, all men have cloyed. 
Return then to thy haunts of pleasure, pain, 
For thy king’s embassy is all in vain.” 

The seer returns within his lonely cave 

And leaves the prince alone the beast to brave. 
At last it slinks away within the gloom; 

No more from their wild home doth either come, 
Three days Prince Zaidu watches the dark lair, 
But now his courage turns to blank despair: 
The seer hath changed his mind since Samas sought 
To urge him forth to leave his lonely lot. 

The prince the mountain precipice now climbs, 
And peers within while clinging to the limbs 

Of stunted oaks, and views the mountain lair ; 
But all in vain his calls ring on the air. 

Then mounting wearily his steed he turns 
Away, and unsuccessful thus returns. 


2 A carnivorous animal supposed to have been either a lion or a tiger, more 
probably a lion. 


40 


ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


COLUMN VI 


HEABANI RESOLVES TO RETURN TO ERECH 


As Zaidu sadly turns and rides away, 
The hermit from his cave comes forth to pray: 
“ Alas! hath all these wilds their charms here lost? 


And is my breast with wild ambition tost? 


My lonely cot I look upon with shame; 


Again I long to seek the fields of fame, 
Where luxury my remaining years 


May crown, and happiness may find—or tears; 
’Tis true! I should have welcomed the bar-ru; * 
But he hath since returned to Subartu.” ? 

His harp he took from its dust-covered case, 
And kissed its carved and well-remembered face; 
And tuning it, he glanced toward the wood, 


And sang his farewell ode to solitude: 


Farewell, ye mountains, woods and trees— 
My heart doth long again for joy; 

I love your wilds and mossy leas, 
But oh, your solitude doth cloy! 


I love to see the bur-khi-is * 

Sweep stately o’er the mossy rocks; 
And tsabi * in a wild like this, 

Hear the tattoo of red woodchucks. 


I love the cries of lig-bar-ri® 

The nes-1® calling for their prey ; 
And leaping of the na-a-li," 

That fly in wildest fear away. 


I love the bu-hir-tser-1 ® all, 
Khar-sa-a-nu sa-qu-u-tu; ® 


1“ Bar-ru,” an army officer. 6 ** Nes-i,”’ lions. 

2“ Su-bar-tu,” Syria. 7 “* Na-a-li,”” spotted stags. 

3“ Bur-khi-is,” antelopes. 8 ** Bu-hir-tser-i,”” beasts of the field. 
4“ Tsabi,” gazelles. ®** Khar-sa-a-nu sa-qu-u-tu,” forests 


5** Lig-bar-ri,”” hyenas. thick. 


HEABANI RESOLVES TO RETURN TO ERECH 41 


Hear cu-uts-tst?° with thunder roll 
Across the skies within my view. 


I love to see the ca-ca-bi} 

Peep through the pine-trees o’er my home, 
And watch the wild tu-ra-a-khi ? 

And arme* welcome, to me come. 


Farewell! ye solitudes, farewell! 
I will not moulder rotting lie 
With no one’s lips to wish me well; 
O give me immortality! 


But what is fame? A bubble blown 
Upon the breeze, that bursts its shell, 

And all our brightest hopes are flown, 
And leaves our solitude a hell. 


The holy minstrel bows his head in woe, 

And sweeps the harpstrings with a movement slow; 
Then lifts his eyes toward the setting sun, 

His evening invocation thus begun: 


*O Samas! to the lifting of my hands 
Show favor! unto me thy servant turn! 
What man before thy blesséd Light withstands? 
O thou! what mortal thine own words can learn? 
And who can rival them inviolate? 
5’ Among the gods no equal thou hast found. 
In Heaven who of all the gods is great? 
O thou alone! art great through Heaven’s bound! 


On earth what man is great? alas! no one, 
For thou alone art great! through earth’s vast 
bounds. 
When wide thy awful voice in Heaven resounds, 
The gods fall prostrate to our Holy One; 


1 ** Cu-uts-tsi,’”? storms. syrian fragments now in the British 
1** Ca-ca-bi,”’ stars. useum. Ny 
a“ Tuy-ra-a-khi,” deer. 5 See ‘“* Records of the Past,” vol. iii 
3“ Arme,” wild goats. Dp. 136. 


“This prayer is made up from As- 


42 ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


When on the earth thy voice afar resounds, 
The genii® bow to thee and kiss the dust. 
In thee, O Samas! do I put my trust, 
For thy great love and mercy wide abounds! 


O my Creator, God, thy watchfulness 

O’er me, oh may it never cease! 

Keep thou the opening of my lips! the fleece 
Of purest snow be my soul’s daily dress. 
Guard thou my hands! O Samas, Lord of Light! 
And ever keep my life and heart aright! 


TABLET III—COLUMN I 
HEABANIS WISDOM—SONG: OF THE KHAU-IK-I 


The dark-eyed maids are dancing in the halls 
Of Erech’s palace: music fills the walls 

Of splendor where the Sar-dan-nu? enthroned, 
His hours is whiling by the maidens zoned; 

A whirling garland chanting forth a song, 
Accompanied with harps thus sang the throng: 


“Heabani’s wisdom chant and sing 
To Erech’s king our mighty Sar.? 
When Hea did Heabani bring, 
Who now to Erech comes afar, 
He taught him then all hidden things 
- Of Ki® or bright Samu * above, 
That to the Mu-di® mystery brings. 
Oh, how Heabani we shall love! 


Chorus 
“Then sing with joy ye Khau-ik-i! ® 
The Khau-ga* chant with waving arms, 
The Nin-uit * sing Au-un-na-ci ® 
Give to our Sar your sweetest charms. 


6 “ Genii,”’ spirits 5 “* Mu-di,” seers or wise men. 


2“ Sar-dan-nu,” the great King. ¢“ Khau-ik-i,” the choral band. 
3“ Sar,” king. 7 ** Khau-ga,”’ chorus. 
§“ Ki,” earth. t 8“ Nin-uit,”’ son 


g- 
4** Samu,” heaven. ®** An-un-na-ci,” spirits of the earth. 


HEABANI’S WISDOM 43 


“ All knowledge that is visible 

Heabani holds it in his glance, 

Sees visions inconceivable, 
The Zi *° his wizard eyes entrance. 

Sweet peace he brings from troubled dreams, 
He comes to EI-li-tar-du-si,! 

From a far road by mountain streams; 
Then sing with joy ye Khau-ik-i! 


Chorus 


“Then sing with joy ye Khau-ik-i! 
The Khau-ga chant with waving arms, 
The Nin-uit sing An-un-na-ci! 
Give to our Sar your sweetest charms. 


“ F’en all that on the tablet rests, 
In Erech’s tower, the Su-bu-ri,? 
The beautiful, with glorious crests, 
He wrote for far posterity. 
We plead with him to leave us not, 
But Zi-Gab-ri* him led away, 
When our great Shal-man* joy us brought, 
And Elam fled to the blue sea. 


Chorus 


“ Then sing with joy ye Khau-ik-i! 
I]-gi-sa-kis-sat ° from above, 
The Nin-uit sing An-un-na-ci! 
Oh, how Heabani we shall love!” 


The maidens note their monarch’s moody face, 
And turn their songs to him with easy grace, 
Of their great ruler tune a joyous lay, 

And oft into his eyes hurl glances gay; 

And trumpets join the chorus, rolling drums, 
And wild applause from all the chieftains comes, 


10 ** Zi,” spirits of the earth, air, 3“ Zi-Gab-ri,” spirits of the moun- 
water, etc. tains. Ms { 

1“ El-li-tar-du-si,” one of the temples «** Shal-man,” deliverer, | 
of Erech. 5 ** [l-gi-sa-kis-sat,” spirits of the 


2“ Su-bu-ri,” the lofty. hosts. 


44 ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


Till the grave seers and councillors now cry 
In praise of him they love so tenderly: 

With arms upraised the mighty chorus join, 
Until his heart is filled with joy divine; 

And thus they sing with more than royal praise, 
Their love for him in every face doth blaze. 


COLUMN II 


SONGS IN PRAISE OF IZDUBAR AND HEABANI AS SUNG BY THE 
KHAU-IK-I 


Our Izdubar dear Erech raised 
From her distress, when she did mourn; 
With joy his glorious name be praised! 
Of a great warrior’s daughter born, 
And Bel in his own might, him arms, 
To Erech’s sons and daughters save; 
What other Sar hath glorious charms 
Like his, who'saved proud Elam’s slave? 


Chorus 


No rival hath our mighty Sar, 

Thy cymbals strike and raise the cry! 
All hail! All hail! great Izdubar! 

His deeds immortal glorify! 


Our Izdubar our sons preserves 

To all our fathers day and night, 
And Erech’s ruler well deserves 

Our highest praise, whose matchless might 
Delights the gods! All hail our Sar! 

Whose firmness, wisdom need no praise! 
Queen Daunat’s son, our Izdubar, 

His glory to the Sami‘? raise! 


Chorus 


Of a great warrior’s daughter born, 

The gods clothe him with matchless might; 
His glory greets the coming morn, 

Oh, how in him we all delight! 


1** Sami,”’ heavens. 


SONGS IN PRAISE OF IZDUBAR 45 


And thus of Seer Heabani they now chant 
His birth and history and hyemal haunt. 


Who can compare with thee, O Nin! ? 
The son of Bel; thy hands didst lay 
Upon Ar-ur-u, thine own queen, 
With glory crowned her on that day. 


To her thy strength did give, and blessed 
Her with thy love and a dear son; 

With Anu’s strength within his breast, 
And Ninip sped then to his throne. 


When Queen Ar-u-ru hears her lord 
From Erech’s city far has gone, 

She bows her head upon the sward, 
With pleading hands in woe doth moan. 


And to Heabani she gave birth, 
The warrior, great Ninip’s son, 
Whose fame is spread through all the earth. 
The queen with her own maids alone 
Retired within her palace walls 
For purity in Erech’s halls. 


Like the corn-god his face concealed, 

Of men and countries he possessed, 
Great wisdom by the gods revealed: 

As Ner#? the god, his limbs were dressed. 
With wild gazelles he ate his food 

While roaming with them in the night; 
For days he wandered in the wood, 

And bu-hir-tser-i * him delight. 


The Zi-ar-ri® Heabani loves, 

That play within the running streams; 
With Zi-ti-am-a-ti ® he roves 

Upon the sands in warm sunbeams. 


3“ Nin ” or “ Nin-ip,” the god of the ~ §& “‘ Zi-ar-ri,” spirits of the rivers, 
chase and war. water-nymphs. 

“Neer” or ‘“ Nergal,” the giant 6 “* Zi-ti-am-a-ti,” spirits of the sea, 
king of war, the strong begetter. naiads or water-nymphs, 


‘ ** Bu-hir-tser-i,” beasts of the field. 


46 ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


“ The prince returns, O Sar!” the herald said, 
And low before the throne he bowed his head; 
“ Our Zaidu, the bewitcher of all men, , 
Doth unsuccessful to us come again. 

Before the cave the seer confronted him 

Three days where Khar-sak’s snowy brow doth gleam. 
Heabani with his beast in his cave went, 

And Zaidu waited, but his courage spent 

When he beheld the seer and beast remain 
Within the cave, and all his words were vain. 
The prince remains without with downcast face, 
And beg of thee, his Sar, thy sovereign grace.” 
The king to all the maidens waves his hand, 
Then vanishes from sight the choral band. 


COLUMN III 


ZAIDU’S RETURN, AND His INSTRUCTION TO TAKE Two Malpg 
WITH Him To ENTICE THE SEER FROM His CAVE 


Prince Zaidu prostrate bows before the Sar, 
Arises, thus narrates to Izdubar: 

“ Thy sovereign, Zaidu hath his king obeyed, 
The royal mission ] have thus essayed 

As Anu’s? soldier; I undaunted tried 

To urge my mission which the seer denied. 

I firmly met the beast that with him came: 
Unmanly fear, confess I to my shame, 

Came o’er me when I first beheld the beast, 
In vain I plead, and in despair I ceased 

When he refused, and angry from me passed 
Within his cave, where cliffs and rocks are massed; 
I climbed, but the wild entrance did not gain, 
And for advice have I returned again.” 


“Tis well, my son,” the Sar to Zaidu said, 

“Thy wisdom I commend for thy young head, 

Again upon thy mission thou must go. 

His might, and strength of purpose, thou dost know, 


2“ Anu,” the King of Heaven. 


ZAIDU’S RETURN 


Before a maiden’s charms will flee away; 

For he doth love the Zi-Ga-bri? that play 

Within the mountain gorges. Turn thy face 
Again with manly portance; for I'll grace 

Thine embassy with two of our sweet maids, 

Who oft shall cheer thee through the mountain glades, 
Whom thou shalt lead before Heabani’s den 
With their bright charms exposed within the glen. 
Take Sam-kha-tu and sweet Khar-imatu: 

They will entice the seer when he shall view 
Their charms displayed before his wondering eyes. 
With Sam-kha, Joy, the seer you will surprise; 
Khar-im-tu will thy plans successful end, 

To her seductive glance his pride will bend. 
Sweet Sam-kha’s charms are known, she is our Joy, 
As Ishtar’s aid her charms ne’er cloy; 

Kharun-tu with her perfect face and form, 

The hearts of all our court doth take by storm: 
When joys by our sweet Sam-kha are distilled, 
Kharun-tu’s love o’ercomes us till we yield. 

Thus, armed with Love’s Seduction and her Joy, 
The greatest powers of earth thou dost employ; 
No flesh can face them but a heart of stone, 

And all the world doth lie before them prone.” 


Three days Prince Zaidu sat with Kharun-tu 

Before the cave within Heabani’s view; 

Beside the pool they waited for the seer: 

From Erech three days’ journey brought them here, 
But where hath Joy, sweet Sam-kha, roving gone? 
When they arrived at setting of the sun 

She disappeared within with waving arms; 

With bright locks flowing she displayed her charms. 
As some sweet zir-ru did young Sam-kha seem, 

A thing of beauty of some mystic dream. 


2 ** Zi-Gab-ri,” spirits of the mountains. 


47 


48 ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


COLUMN IV 
THE Two MAmwENs ENTICE THE SEER 


Thus in Heabani’s cave the maiden went, 

And o’er the sleeping seer her form she bent; 

O’er him who with gazelles oft eats his food ; 

O’er him who drinks with bhu-ri+ in the wood; 
O’er him who loves the zir-ri,—of them dreams, 
And sports with them within the mountain streams. 
And when the gay enticer saw the seer 
Unconscious sleeping with sweet Joy so near, 

She clasped him to her breast and kissed his brow. 
The seer awakes, with wonder eyes her now: 
“Thy glory thou hast brought to me!”’ he saith, 

“ Sweet Zir-ru comes to me with fragrant breath!” 
And with delight he eyes her beauteous form, 

His breast warm moved by the enticer’s charm. 
He springs upon his feet and her pursues: 

She laughing flees; to sport with him doth choose. 


And now he eyes his hairy body, arms 

Compared to Sam-kha’s snowy god-like charms, 
She give to him her freshness, blooming youth? 
She laughing comes again to him,—Forsooth! 
Her glorious arms she opens, flees away, 

While he doth follow the enticer gay. 

He seizes, kisses, takes away her breath, 

And she falls to the ground—perhaps in death 
He thinks, and o’er her leans where she now lay; 
At last she breathes, and springs, and flees away. 
But he the sport enjoys, and her pursues; 

But glancing back his arms she doth refuse. 

And thus three days and four of nights she played; 
For of Heabani’s love she was afraid. 

Her joyous company doth him inspire 

For Sam-kha, joy, and love, and wild desire. 

He was not satisfied unless her form 

Remained before him with her endless charm. 


| 1“ Bhu-ri,” wild-beasts, pets of the hermit seer. 


THE TWO MAIDENS ENTICE THE SEER 49 


But when his bhu-ri of the field the sight 
Beheld, the wild gazelles fled in affright. 
And now without the cave they came in view 
Of Zaidu waiting with sweet Kharim-tu, 


And when Heabani saw the rounded form 

Of bright Kharim-tu, her voluptuous charm 

Drew him to her, and at her feet he sate 

With wistful face, resigned to any fate. 

Kharim-tu, smiling sweetly, bent her head, 
Enticing him the tempter coyly said, 

“ Heabani, like a famous god thou art, 

Why with these creeping things doth sleep thy heart? 
Come thou with me to Erech Su-bu-ri? 

To Anu’s temple Elli-tar-du-si, 

And Ishtar’s city where great Izdubar 

Doth reign, the glorious giant king of war; 

Whose mighty strength above his chiefs doth tower, 
Come see our giant king of matchless power.” 
Her flashing eyes half languid pierce the seer, 
Until his first resolves all disappear. 

And rising to his feet his eyes he turned 

Toward sweet Joy,* whose love for him yet burned; 
And eyeing both with beaming face he saith, 
“With Sam-kha’s love the seer hath pledged his faith; 
And I will go to Elli-tar-du-si, 

Great Anu’s seat and Ishtar’s where with thee, 

I will behold the giant Izdubar, 

Whose fame is known to me as king of war; 

And I will meet him there, and test the power 

Of him whose fame above all men doth tower. 

A mid-dan-nu * to Erech I will take, 

To see if he its mighty strength can break. 

In these wild caves its strength has mighty grown; 
If he the beast destroys, I will make known 

His dream to him—e’en all the seer doth know; 
And now with thee to Erech I will go. 


3“ Su- bu-ri,’ ” the lofty imal, Soppaed to be a tiger; the 
ae hi ‘Sam- kha- tu ”’ wig “* Samkha.”’ Khorsab sculpture, however, por- 
id-dan-nu,” a carnivorous an- trays it as a lion. 


4 


5° 


FESTIVAL IN Honor oF HEABANI, WHO ARRIVES AT ERECH— 


ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


COLUMN V 


INTERPRETATION OF THE DREAM 


The sounds of wild rejoicing now arise; 

“ Heabani comes!” resound the joyful cries, 
And through the gates of Erech Suburi 

Now file the chieftains, Su-khu-li rubi.? 

A festival in honor of their guest 

The Sar proclaims, and Erech gaily drest, 

Her welcome warm extends to the famed seer. 
The maidens, Erech’s daughters, now appear, 
With richest kirtles gaily decked with flowers, 
And on his head they rain their rosy showers. 
Rejoicing sing, while harps and cymbals play, 
And laud him to the skies in their sweet way ; 
And mingling with their joy, their monarch rode 
Before the seer, who stately after strode 

Beside his beast, and next the men of fame. 

The maids thus chant high honors to his name: 


“A prince we make thee, mighty seer! 
Be filled with joy and royal cheer! 
All hail to Erech’s seer! 


Whom day and night our Sar hath sought, 
O banish fear! for Hea taught 
The seer, his glory wrought. 


He comes! whom Samas loves as gold, 
To Erech grace, our city old; 
All wisdom he doth hold. 


Great Hea doth to him unfold 
' All that remains to man untold; 
Give him the chain of gold! 


He cometh from the Za-Gab-ri 
To our dear Erech Su-bu-ri. 
Heabani glorify! 


1° Su-khu-li ru-bi,” attendants of the King. 


FESTIVAL 51 
Thy dream he will reveal, O Sar! 
Its meaning show to Izdubar, 

Victorious king of war.” 


Within the council halls now lead the seers 
With trepidation and with many fears, 
To hear the seer explain their monarch’s dream. 
Beside the royal throne he sits supreme 
Among the seers, the Sar, his scribe commands 
To read his dream recorded as it stands 
In Erech’s Gi;? who reads it to the seer, 
Who answers thus: 
“In this there doth appear 
A god, whose ardent love will lead to deeds 
Of hate against thee, Sar; thy present needs 
Are great, O king!as fire this love will burn 
Until the wicked seven * on thee turn; 
And blood, alone, will not their fury sate: 
The gods will hurl upon thee some dread fate.” 
In silence, Izdubar the warning heard; 
His blood with terror froze, and then was stirred 
By passions wild, when he recalled the scene 
Of Ishtar’s love for him by man unseen; 
When she so wildly then proclaimed her love; 
And now with hate his inmost soul doth move, 
And her bright form to a black dal-khu* turned 
And furious passions on his features burned. 
And then of the first dream he thought, and light 
Across his vision broke: 
“Tis true! aright 
Thy seer hath read! for Ishtar came to me 
In the first dream, her face e’en yet I see! 
Aye, more! her lips to mine again then fell! 
Her arms I felt around me,—breath too well 
I know! of fragrance, while perfume arose 
Around my dream and fled not at the close; 
As frankincense and myrrh it lingered, when 
I woke. Ah yes! the queen will come again!” 
okt Ee literally a written tablet, a * The seven wicked spirits of the 


record. earth, air, and ocean. a 
ah 4 Dal-khu,” an evil spirit, a demon. 


52 ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


Then to his counsellor who wondering stood, 
Nor heard his murmuring, but saw subdued 

His features were, at first, and then, they grand 
Became with settled hate; he raised his hand; 
“Tis true!’ he said, ““ Reward on him bestow! 
Then to the waiting feast we all shall go.” 


COLUMN VI 


IzDUBAR SLAYS THE MIDANNU IN THE FESTIVE HALL, AND 
HEABANI DECLARES Him To BE A Gop 


The guests are seated round the festal board; 
Heabani takes his seat beside his lord. 

The choicest viands of the wealthy plain 
Before them placed and fishes of the main, 
With wines and cordials, juices rich and rare 
The chieftains all enjoy—the royal fare. 

This day, with Izdubar they laugh and joke 
*Mid courtesies and mirth, and oft provoke 
The ringing merry laughter through the halls. 
When all are satisfied within the walls, 

Their fill have eaten of the royal fare, 

With wine they banish from them every care. 


The Su-khu-li? with tinkling bells proclaim, 

“Our Sar would speak! Our king of mighty fame.” 
Who says: “ My chieftains, lords, our seer requests 
A test of strength before assembled guests; 
Unarmed requires your Sar-dan-nu to slay 

The Mid-an-nu? which he hath brought to-day. 

So stand aside, my friends, behold the test! 

Your Sar will satisfy his seer and guest.” 

The monster now is brought before the king, 
Heabani him unchains to let him spring 

Upon the giant king. His chieftains stand 

In terror looking at their monarch grand, 

Who smiling stands, his eyes on the beast fixed; 
While they in wildest terror are transfixed. 


1“ Su-khu-li,” the attendants. supposed to be a lion, the pet of the 
#** Mid-an-nu,” carnivorous animal, seer. 


SALE OF THE MAIDENS OF BABYLON 53 


Heabani claps his hands towards the king, 

And the wild beast upon his form doth spring. 

The giant grasps its throat in high mid-air, 

8And holds it ’neath his arm without a fear. 
With sullen choking roars it struggling dies, 

While shouts of joy from all the guests arise. 

The mighty deed of strength the seer appals, 

And at the feet of Izdubar he falls: 

“Immortal king! illustrious of men! 

Thy glorious strength reveals the gods again 

On earth. To thee I bow in reverent fear, 

A god returned thou art! O Erech, hear! 

Of kingdoms thou art blessed with grandest fame, 
That thou among thy kings a god can name.” 
Again they gathered round the festal board, 

And joy and revelry they soon restored. 

The revels high are raised o’er sparkling wine; 
Through all the night they praise their king divine. 


TABLET IV1—COLUMN I 
Tue ANNUAL SALE OF THE MAIDENS OF BABYLON 


Hail holy union! wedded love on earth! 

The highest bliss which crowns us from our birth, 
Our joy! the mainspring of our life and aims, 
Our great incentive when sweet love inflames 
Our hearts to glorious deeds and ever wreathes 
Around our brows, the happy smile that breathes 
Sweet fragrance from the home of holy love, 

And arms us with a courage from above. 


O Woman! Woman! weave thy love around 
Thy chosen lover, who in thee hath found 

A loveliness and purity so sweet, 

That he doth watch for coming of the feet 


* This feat of Izdubar is portrayed on Smith’s “ Chaldean Account of Gene- 
the bas-relief in the Louvre Museum, sis,” opposite p. 175. ; 

Paris, from the Khorsabad sculpture 1We have included in Tablet IV 

and is also copied in Sayce’s edition of Tablets V and VI_ of the original, as 
classified by Mr, Sayce. 


54 ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


That brings him happiness and thrill his heart— 
For one, of all thy kind who can impart 

To him the holiest bliss, the sweetest joy, 

That e’er can crown his life so tenderly ; 

He worships thee within a holy fane, 

Let not his hope and joy be all in vain! 


O thou, sweet Queen! we crown thee in our homes, 
And give to thee our love that holy comes 
From Heaven to-inspire and bless our lives. 
For this mankind all hope to take pure wives 
To sacredest of all our temples, shrines, 

And keep thee pure within sweet love’s confines 
That we may worship thee, and daily bring 
Devotions to our altar,—to thee sing 

Our orisons of praise, and sacred keep 

Our homes till we shall softly drop asleep 
Within the arms we love so tenderly, 

And carry with us a sweet memory 

Of purity and bliss that blessed our lives, 

And children gave from sweetest of pure wives. 


Thou art our all! O holy woman, pure 
Forever may thy charms on earth endure! 
Oh, trample not upon thy husband’s love! 

For true devotion he doth daily prove. 

Oh, shackle not his feet in life’s fierce strife, 
His weary shoulders burden,—blast his life! 
Or palsy those dear hands that work for thee, 
And fill his eyes with tears of agony, 

Till love shall turn as acid to his teeth, 

And thorns shall tear his side with hellish wreath, 
And daggers pierce his heart, and ice his soul, 
And thou become to him a hated ghoul! 


*What married woman is untainted, pure? 

She, who when married spreads for men no lure, 
Bestows caresses on no man but him 

Who is her husband; she who doth not trim 


*The above is taken from an As- Past,” vol. xi., pp. 159, 160, and pre- 
syrian fragment (‘‘ W. A. I.,” ii. 3s, sents the Assyrian view of purity and 
o. 4) translated in ‘“‘ Records of a the customs of their people. 


SALE OF THE MAIDENS OF BABYLON 55 


Her form to catch the vulgar gaze, nor paints 
Herself, or in her husband’s absence taunts 

Not her sweet purity ; exposes not 

Her form undraped, whose veil no freeman aught 
Has raised ;* or shows her face to others than 
Her slaves; and loves alone her husbandman; 
She who has never moistened her pure lips 

With liquors that intoxicate ;* nor sips 

With others joys that sacred are alone 

To him, her strength; who claims her as his own, 


O Beauty, Purity, my theme inspire! 

To woman’s love of old, my muse aspire! 

When her sweet charms were equally bestowed, 
And fairest of the sex with hopes imbued 

Of capturing men of wealth and lives of ease, 
When loveliness at public sale> doth please 
The nobles of the land to wealth bestow 
Upon ill-favored sisters, maids of woe, 

Who claimed no beauty, nor had lovely charms; 
When crones and hags, and maids with uncouth forms, 
Secured a husbandman despite of fate, 

And love redeemed them from the arms of hate. 


The proclamation Izdubar had made 

To bring to the great plaza every maid, 

For Beltis’ feast and Hergal’s now arrives, 
When maidens are selected as the wives 

Of noblemen or burghers of the towns 

And cities of the kingdom; when wealth crowns 
The nobles richest, ever as of old, 

With beauty they have purchased with their gold. 


8 Literally, “‘ whose veil no freeman 
of pure race has raised.” Before slaves 
and men of mean rank, women of the 
East are not obliged to veil the face. 

¢ Literally, ‘“‘ who has never moistened 
her teeth with an intoxicating liquor.”’ 
** Rec. of the Past,” p. 160, 1. 6. 

5 The public sale herein described is 
taken from the statement of Herodotus 
(see Herodotus, vol. i., p. 196. Com- 

are ‘‘ Nic. Dam. Fr.,” 131, and Aélian. 
‘Var. Hist.,’”’ iv. 1), who says all the 
marriageable virgins in all the towns of 
the empire or kingdom were sold at 
public auction. The beautiful maidens 


were sold to the highest bidder, and 
the proceeds were deposited before the 
herald. The ugly maidens in turn were 
then put up, and the bidders were 
called upon to take them as_ wives 
with the smallest dowry to be paid from 
the proceeds of the sales of the beauti- 
ful maids, and they were in turn 
awarded to those who would accept 
them with the smallest amount as 
dowry. The numerous contracts for the 
sales of women now in the British 
Museum may possibly be records of 
these transactions. 


56 ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


The festival, the Sabat-tu® hath come! 

The Sabat-tu of Elul! hear the hum 

Of voices filling Erech’s streets! 

The maids are coming, how each gaily prates! 

The day and hour has come for them to stand 

And meet the bidders from all Sumir’s land; 

The day that ends their maidenhood, and brings 
Them joy or not. Oh, how the poor young things 
With throbbing hearts approach yon gathering throng 
To hear their fate pronounced; but is it wrong? 
The custom old, Accadia thinks is good, 

They all are young and fresh with maidenhood ; 

The ugly ones as well, shall husbands have, 

And their young lives from shame thus they will save. 
No aged maids shall pass from yonder throng 

With bitterness,—their heart’s unuttered song 

For some dear love to end their joyless woe, 

And longings unallayed that e’er may flow. 


But Love! O where art thou? art thou a thing 
That gold may buy? Doth lucre thy bright wing 
Unfold to hover over human hearts? 

Oh, no! Thy presence to our soul imparts 

A sweeter joy than selfishness can give, 

Thou givest love that thou mayst love receive; 
Nor asking aught of wealth, of rank, or fame. 
True love in palace, hovel, is the same 

Sweet joy, the holiest of sacred things. 

For this we worship Ishtar, for she brings 

Us happiness, when we ourselves forget 

In the dear arms we love; no coronet 

Of power, or countless gold, or rank, or fame, 

Or aught that life can give, or tongue can name, 
Can reach the heart that loyally doth love, 

Nor hopes of heaven, nor fears of hell can move. 


Mayhap, this Sabattu, some lover may 
All wealth he claims abandon on this day, 
6 ** Sab-at-tu,” a day of rest for the ship of the sun, moon, and stars, and 


heart (‘‘ W. A. I.,” ii. 32), the Sabbath their gods, which were known by dif- 
day, which was dedicated to the wor- ferent names. 


SALE OF THE MAIDENS OF BABYLON 57 


For the dear heart that seeming pleads to him, 
While her fond glistening eyes shall on him gleam. 
A look, a glance; when mingling souls speak love, 
Will in his breast undying longings move; 

And let us hope that when the youths have lain’ 
Their all before the herald, that no men 

Who see their sacrifice will rob their hearts 

Of all that gives them joy or bliss imparts; 

Or that this day alone will maidens see 

Who have not loved, and they will happy be 

With him who purchases her as his wife; 

Or proud young beauties will enjoy the strife 

Of bidders to secure their lovely charms, 

And love may bring their husbands to their arms. 


The day is sacred, dedicated old 

To Love and Strength, when loving arms shall fold 
A vigorous husband to a maiden’s breast, 

Where she may ever stay and safely rest. 

The day of Ishtar, Queen of Love! the day 

Of Nergal, the strong god, to whom they pray 

For strength to bless with vigor Accad’s sons. 

For many anxious years this day atones. 


®This day their Sar the flesh of birds eats not, 
Nor food profaned by fire this day, nor aught 
Of labor may perform nor gubat ® change, 
Nor snowy ku-bar-ra?® anew arrange. 

A sacrifice he offers not, nor rides 

Upon his chariot this day, nor guides 

His realm’s affairs, and his Tur-tan-nu rests. 
Of soldiers, and of orders, he divests 

His mind; and even though disease may fall 
Upon him, remedies he may not call. 

The temple he shall enter in the night, 

And pray that Ishtar’s favor may delight 
His heart; and lift his voice in holy prayer, 


™* Lain,” to lay, v.a. (pretr. “ laid,” Calendar (‘‘C. I. W. A.,”” vol. iv., pls. 


eet passive “lain,” from “ liggan,” 32, 33); also translated in ‘* Records 
ax.), “‘to place along the ground.”— of the Past,’’ vol. vii., pp. 162, 163. 
Fenning’s Royal Eng. Dic., London, 9 * Zubat,” robes. 

MDCLXXV. 10 ** Ku-bar-ra,”’ linen robes. 


®*From the Babylonian’ Festival 


58 ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


In Nergal’s temple rest from every care, 
Where he before the holy altar bends 
With lifted hands, his soul’s petition sends. 


Around the square the palms and cedars shine, 
And bowers of roses cluster round divine. 
Beneath an arch of myrtles, climbing vines, 

And canopy,—with wreathing flowers it shines, 
There stands a wondrous garland-wreathéd throne, 
Where maids are gathered ;—each unmarried one. 
The timid maids and bold of Babylon 

Are each in turn led to the rosy throne; 

The crowd of bidders round the herald stand, 

The richest and the poorest of the land. 


The queen of Accad’s maids doth now appear, 
We see the burnished chariot coming near, 

Ten beauteous bays with proud steps, nodding plumes 
Come first; behind, a train of nobles comes; 
And now we see the close-drawn canopy 
Thrown back by slaves, who step aside, that she 
The queen of beauty crowned with lilies, rose, 
May here alight. And see! she queenly goes 
With dainty steps between the noblemen, 

Who stand on either side the queen 

Of beauty of the plains, who first this day 

Shall reign upon the throne, and lead the way 
For all the maids who shall be bought for gold, 
And thus the first upon the throne is sold. 


She takes her seat beneath the canopy, 
Upon the throne high raised, that all may see; 
As she her veil of fine spun gold flings back 
From her sweet face and o’er her ringlets black, 
Her large dark eyes, soft as a wild gazelle’s, 
Upon the richest nobles dart appeals. 
Her bosom throbs ’neath gems and snowy lace, 
And robes of broidered satin, velvets, grace 
Her beauty with their pearly folds that fall 
Around her form. 

Hark! hear the herald’s call! 


SALE OF THE MAIDENS OF BABYLON 


“ Behold this pearl! my lords and noblemen, 
And who will bid for her as wife, my men? 
“ Ana-bilti khurassi ash at ka! ””? 

“ Akhadu khurassi ana sa-sa! ”’? 

“U sinu bilti khurassi! ” + two cried. 

“ Sal-sutu bilti!”’* nobles three replied ; 
And four, and five, and six, till one bid ten, 
A vast amount of gold for noblemen: 


But see! the bidders in excitement stand 

Around a youth who cries with lifted hand 

And features pale and stern, who now began 

To bid against a wealthy nobleman, 

Whose countless herds graze far upon the plain, 
His laden ships that ride upon the main 

He counts by scores. He turns his evil eyes 

And wolfish face upon the youth and cries, 

“ Khamisserit!”’* The lover answering says: 
“Esra’a!”’* “U selasa’a!”’® then brays 

The gray-haired lover. “U irbaha!”® cries 

The youth, and still the nobleman defies ; 

Who answers cooly, “ Khausa’a;” 7 and eyes 
The anxious youth, who wildly “ Miha!” ® cries. 
“ Mine! mine! she is! though you alapu® bid!” 
“A fool thou art!” the noble, leaving, said. 

“One hundred talents for a maid!” he sneered, 
And in the crowd he growling disappeared. 

The measures filled with shining gold are brought, 
And thus the loveliest of all is bought. 


The next in beauty on the throne is sold, 

And thus the beautiful are sold for gold. 

The richest thus select the beautiful, 

The poor must take alone the dutiful 

And homely with a dower which beauty bought, 
And ugliness with gold becomes his lot. 

The ugliest, unsightly, and deformed, 


4** And two golden talents!” ¢“ And forty!” 
2** Three talents! ” 7 ** Fifty!’ 
8** Fifteen! ” §** One hundred! ” 


** Twenty! ” *** One thousand! ” 
5** And thirty!” 


59 


ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


Is now brought forth; with many wriggles squirmed 
She to the throne, where beauty late had sat: 
Her ugliness distorted thus; whereat 
The herald cries: 

“Who will this woman take 
With smallest dowry? She can cook and bake, 
And many household duties well perform, 
Although she does not claim a beauty’s charm. 
Who wants a wife?” 

The ugly crone with blinks 

Doth hideous look, till every bidder shrinks. 
A sorry spectacle, mis-shapen, gross, 
She is, and bidders now are at a loss 
How much to ask to take the hag to wife. 
At last one cries: 

“ Five bilt1,1° for relief 
Of herald I will take, to start the bid!” 
“ And four of bilti, V’ll take, with the maid!” 
“ Three and a half!” one cries with shaking head, 
“ And she is yours, my man!” the herald said, 
And thus she bought a husband and a home. 


And so the scare-crows, scraggy ones, now come 

In turn; the lean, ill-favored, gawky, bald, 
Long-nosed, uncouth, raw-boned, and those with scald 
And freckled, frowsy, ricketty and squat, 

The stumpy, bandy-leggéd, gaunt, each bought 

A man; though ugly as a toad, they sold, 

For every man with her received his gold. 

The heaped-up gold which beauteous maids had brought 
Is thus proportioned to the bidder’s lot; 

The grisly, blear-eyed, every one is sold, 

And husbands purchased for a pile of gold, 

And happiness diffused throughout the land; 

For when the maid refused her husband’s hand 

She might return by paying back the gold. 

And every maid who thus for wife was sold 
Received a bond from him who purchased her, 

‘Lo wed her as his wife, or else incur 


10 ** Five bilti,’”? about £3,165 sterling, or $15,82. 


COUNCIL IN THE PALACE 61 


The forfeit of his bond, and thus no maids 

In all the land were found as grumbling jades, 
Whose fate it was to have no husbandman, 
For every woman had a husband then. 


COLUMN II 
CoUNCIL IN THE PALACE 


The seers on silver couches round the throne; 
The hangings of the carved lintel thrown 
Aside; the heralds cried: “ The Sar! The Sar! 
The council opens our King Izdubar!” 

The Sar walked o’er the velvets to his throne 
Of gold inlaid with gems. A vassal prone 
Before the Sar now placed the stool of gold, 
Arranged his royal robes with glittering fold 
Of laces, fringes rich inwove with pearls, 
Embroidered with quaint figures, curious twirls. 
Behind the throne a prince of royal blood 
Arrayed in courtly splendor, waiting stood, 
And gently waved a jewelled fan aloft 

Above the Sar’s tiara; carpets soft 

From Accad’s looms the varied tilings bright, 
In tasteful order, part conceal from sight. 


The glittering pillars stand with gold o’erlaid 
In rows throughout the room to the arcade, 
Within the entrance from a columned hall. 

The ivory-graven panels on the wall 

On every side are set in solid gold. 

The canopy chased golden pillars hold 

Above the throne, and emeralds and gems 
Flash from the counsellor’s rich diadems. 

In silence all await the monarch’s sign: 

“This council hath been called, the hour is thine 
To counsel with thy King upon a plan 

Of conquest of our foes, who ride this plain, 
Unchecked around; these Suti should be driven 
From Sumir’s plain. Have ye our wrongs forgivent 


6a ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


Khumbaba hath enjoyed great Accad’s spoils 
Too long; with him we end these long turmoils. 
What sayest thou, Heabani?—all my seers? 
Hath Accad not her chariots and spears?” 


Then one among the wisest seers arose 

“To save our precious tune which hourly flows, 
He should our seer, Rab-sak-i? first invite 

To lay his plans before the Sar, and light 

May break across our vision. I confess 

Great obstacles I see, but acquiesce 

In any plan you deem may bring success. 

The gods, I feel our cause will gladly bless.” 
Another spoke, and all agree at last 

To hear the seer whose wisdom all surpassed. 


Heabani modestly arose and said, 

And gracefully to all inclined his head: 

“© Sar! thy seer will gladly counsel give 

To thee, and all our seers; my thanks receive 
For thy great confidence in my poor skill 

To crush our foes who every country fill. 

I with the Sar avree that we should strike 

A blow againsi rhe rival king, who like 

Our Sar, is a great giant king, and lives 

Within a mountain castle, whence he grieves 

All nations by his tyranny, and reigns 

With haughty power from Kharsak to these plains. 
I'll lead the way, my Sar, to his wild home; 

*Tis twenty kas-pu? hence, if you will come, 

A wall surrounds his castle in a wood, 

With brazen gates strong fastened. I have stood 
Beneath the lofty pines which dwindle these 

To shrubs that grow in parks as ornate trees. 
The mighty walls will reach six gars * in height, 
And two in breadth, like Nipur’s * to the sight. 


1“ Rab-sak-i,” chief of the high ones, 
chief of the seers and counsellors; 
prime minister. 

3“*Twenty kaspu,’’ 140 miles; each 
kaspu was seven miles, or two hours’ 
journey. 

3“ Six gars,’’ 120 feet; each gar was 


a twenty-foot measure. Khumbaba’s 
walls were thus 120 feet high and forty 
ii thick—much like the walls of Baby 


on. 

«“ Nipur ”’ was one of the cities of 
Izdubar’s kingdom, from whence he 
came to the rescue of Erech. 


COUNCIL IN THE PALACE 63 


And when you go, take with you many mules; 
With men to bring the spoils, and needed tools 
To break the gates, his castle overthrow: 

To lose no time, to-morrow we should go. 

To Erech, pines and cedars we can bring 

With all the wealth of Elam’s giant king, 

And Erech fill with glorious parks and halls, 
Remove these man-u-bani,® ruined walls. 

Take to your hearts, ye seers, poor Erech’s wrongs! 
Her fall, the bards of Elam sing in songs. 

I love dear Erech, may her towers shine! 

He seized his harp, thus sung the seer divine: 


“O Erech! thy bright plains I love; 
Although from thee thy seer did rove, 
My heart remained with thee! 
The foe destroyed thy beauteous towers, 
Sa-mu forgot to rain her showers, 
And could I happy be? 


Mine eyes beheld thy fallen gates, 
Thy blood warm flowing in thy streets, 
My heart was broken then. 

I raised mine eyes and saw thy Sar 
In glory on his steed of war, 
And joy returned again! 


I saw the foe in wild dismay 

Before him flee that glorious day. 
With joy I heard the cry 

Of victory resound afar, 

Saw Elam crushed ’neath Accad’s car: 
I shouted, Victory! 


Away! till birds of prey shall rend 
His flesh and haughty Elam bend 
Before our mighty Sar! 


5“ Man-u-ban-i,” a tree or shrub of fragment translated by Mr. Sayce 
unpleasant odor mentioned by Heabani. should be placed in another position in 
sce ~=Sayce’s revised edition Smith’s the epic. 

*Chald. Acc. of Genesis,” p. 254. The 


64 ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


Beneath his forest of pine-trees 
The battle-cry then loudly raise, 
We follow Izdubar! 


And may the birds of prey surround 
Khumbaba stretched upon the ground, 

Destroy his body there! 

And Izdubar alone be king, 
And all his people joyful sing, 

With glory crown him here! 


All hail! All hail! our giant King, 
The amaranti * for him bring, 

To crown him, crown him here, 
As King of Accad and Sutu, 
And all the land of Subar-tu! 

So sayeth Hea’s seer!” 


The counsellors and chieftains wildly cry 
Around the throne, “ All hail zggu sar-ri 

Of Su-bar-tu!” and shouting leave the halls 
To summon Accad’s soldiers from the walls 
To hear the war proclaimed against their foes, 
And Accad’s war-cry from them loud arose. 
King Izdubar Heabani warmly prest _ 
Within his arms upon his throbbing breast, 
And said, “ Let us to the war temple go, 
That all the gods their favor may bestow.” 
The seer replied, “ ’Tis well! then let us wend 
Our way, and at the altar we will bend,— 

To Ishtar’s temple, where our goddess queen 
Doth reign, seek her propitious favor, then 

In Samas’ holy temple pray for aid 

To crush our foe ;—with glory on each blade, 
Our hands will carry victory in war.” 

The chiefs, without the temple, join their Sar. 


6 ** Amaranti,” amaranth. ‘‘ Immortal amaranth.’”’—‘‘ Par. Lost’ 


WG Aig 
eo pe 


oa 


ng Cas SSI. aw ie 
: a ‘3 Saale kd 
“4 cm) so Af aie 4 oi 
4 aes? Se. (i tty i CM Ashe 40. we oti 
a) 8 Bs} acti gots S: Wael fs be 


* 


“ia eo! i a 


as ate a es te neg nie 


CHOICE EXAMPLES OF FRENCH SCULPTURE. 


PEGASUS, THE WINGED HORSE. 


Photo-cngraving from the original group in the Grand Opera House at Paris. 


In depicting the start of Bellerophon and his wingéd steed Pegasus on their 
wondrous ride, the artist, M. Lequesne, has adhered faithfully to the type of horse 
one sees represented on the Pantheon friezes. ‘The trembling eagerness of the ani- 
mal under the intense restraint exercised by his master is wonderfully expressed, 
and the decorative strength of the group compels admiration. 


Seat a ‘ ' ‘ 
: = = ¥ : 
- a ‘ ' 
¥ ‘ 
_ i 
- * i 
i 
4 & - a 
- _ if 
. 
. y > 
¥ 
* « 
= ~ 
« 
+ 
’ 
. 
, 
” 
_ 
_ 
. 
ty OLS | 
a { 
oe } 
» * “ { 
! 
; i 
= “ 
- 
. 
\ ‘ 
: - “ --. - ° » —s 
ee » 
‘ 


THE KING WORSHIPS AT THE SHRINE OF ISHTAR 65 


COLUMN III 


THE KiInc WorSHIPS AT THE SHRINE OF ISHTAR 


‘The richest and the poorest here must stay, 
Each proud or humble maid must take her way 
To Ishtar’s temple grand, a lofty shrine, 

With youth and beauty seek her aid divine. 
Some drive in covered chariots of gold, 

With courtly trains come to the temple old. 
With ribbons on their brows all take their seats, 
The richer maid of nobles, princes, waits 
Within grand chambers for the nobler maids; 
The rest all sit within the shrine’s arcades. 
Thus fill the temple with sweet beauties, crones; 
The latest maids are the most timid ones. 


In rows the maidens sat along the halls 

And vestibules, on couches, where the walls 
Were carved with mystic signs of Ishtar’s feast; 
Till at the inner shrine the carvings ceased. 
Amid the crowd long silken cords were strung 
To mark the paths, and to the pillows clung. 

The King through the great crowd now pressed his way 
Toward the inner shrine, where he may pray. 
The jewelled maidens on the cushioned seats, 
Now babbling hailed the King, and each entreats 
For sacred service, silver or of gold, 

And to him, all, their sweetest charms unfold. 
Some lovely were, in tears besought and cried, 
And many would a blooming bride provide; 
While others were deformed and homely, old, 
As spinsters still remained, till now grown bold, 
They raised their bony arms aloft and bawled. 
Some hideous were with harshest voices squalled, 


1 The account given by Herodotus of 
the worship of Beltis or Ishtar, if true 
(see Herodotus, i. 199), was one of the 
darkest features of Babylonian religion, 
It is probable that the first intention 
was only to represent love as heaven- 
born, and that it afterward became 


5 


sensual in the time of Herodotus. (See 
Sayce’s edition Smith’s ‘'C. A. of 
Gen.,’’ p. 50.) The presence of the 
women may have been intended at 
first to present an innocent attraction. 
See also Rawlinson’s “ Ancient Mon- 
archies,’’ vol. iii, p. 21. 


66 ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


And hags like dal-kit from the Under-World, 

Their curses deep, growled forth from where they curled. 
But these were few and silent soon became, 

And hid their ugliness away in shame. 

For years some maids had waited day and night, 

But beauty hides the ugly ones from sight. 


The King astounded, eyed them seated round; 
Beneath their gaze his eyes fell to the ground. 
“And hath great Accad lost so many sons, 

And left so many maids unmarried ones?” 

He eyed the image where the goddess stood 
Upon a pedestal of cedar wood 

O’erlaid with gold and pearls and wk-ni stones, 
And near it stands the altar with its cones 

Of gold adorned with gems and solid pearls,— 
And from the golden censer incense curls. 

Beside the altar stands a table grand 

Of solid metal carved with skilful hand; 

Upon it stands a mass of golden ware, 

With wines and fruits which pious hands prepare. 
The walls are glistening with gold and gems, 
The priestesses all wear rich diadems. 

The Sar now eyes the maidens, while they gaze; 
Thus they expectant wait, while he surveys. 

And see! he takes from them a charming girl 
With Ishtar’s eyes and perfect form, the pearl 
Of beauty of them all; turns to the shrine, 
When in her lap he drops a golden coin, 

And says, “The goddess Ishtar, prosper thee!” ? 
She springs, for she from Ishtar’s halls is free, 
And kneels and weeps before the monarch’s feet, 
“O great and mighty Sar I thee entreat, 

My will is thine, but all my sisters free: 

Behold my sisters here imploring thee!”’ 

The King gazed at the beauteous pleading face, 
Which roused within his breast the noble race 


8See Herodotus, vol. i. 199. Ish- above description from Herodotus, 
tar was called Mylitta or Beltic in the whose work is mostly confirmed by the 
time of Herodotus. We have taken the cuneiform inscriptions. 


THE KING WORSHIPS AT THE SHRINE OF ISHTAR 


Before her heavenly charms transfixed he stood. 
Before her heavenly charms transfixed he stood. 


“Tis well! my daughter, I the favor grant!” 
And to the priestess said, ‘‘ Let here be sent 
Great coffers filled with gold! for I release 
These maids. Let all their weary waiting cease, 
The price I’ll send by messengers to thee.” 

And all rejoicing sing a psalmody. 

A ring of maidens round the image forms; 
With flashing eyes they sing, with waving arms, 
A wilderness of snowy arms and feet, 

To song and dance the holy measure beat; 

A mass of waving ringlets, sparkling eyes. 

In wildest transport round each maiden flies, 
The measure keeps to sacred psalmody, 

With music ravishing,—sweet melody. 

The priestess leads for them the holy hymn, 
Thus sing they, measure keep with body, limb: 


*“ Let length of days, long lasting years, 
With sword of power, extend his holy life! 
With years extended full of glory, shine, 
Pre-eminent above all kings in strife. 


67 


Oh, clothe our king, our lord, with strength divine, 


Who with such gifts to gods appears! 


“Let his great empire’s limits be, 
Now vast and wide, enlarged, and may he reign 
(Till it shall spread before his eyes complete) 
Supreme above all kings! May he attain 
To silver hairs, old age, and nations greet 
Our sovereign in his royalty! 


“When gifts are ended of Life’s days, 
The feasts of the Land of the Silver Sky, 
With bliss, the Blest Abode Refulgent Courts, 


...2 The above psalm is found in vol. Biblical Archeology,” p. 108, and also 
iii. of Rawlinson’s “‘ British Museum In- y M. Lenormant in his “ Premiéres 
i tions,” pl. 66, and was translated Civilisations,’* p. 17 We have used 


F. Talbot, F.R.S., in_vol. i. of | Mr. Talbot’s safaception. 
the ‘' Transactions of the Society of 


68 ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


May he enjoy through all eternity, 
Where Light of Happy Fields with joy transports 
And dwell in life eternal, holy there 
In presence of the gods with sacred cheer, 
With Assur’s gods walk blessed ways! ” 


When they have ended all their joyful song, 
They gratefully around their monarch throng; 
And kneeling at his feet, they bathe his hands 
With tears of joy, and kiss the ’broidered bands 
Of his bright robes, then joyous haste away ; 
And Erech’s shame was ended on that day. 


And now the Sar as his libation pours 
The sparkling sacred wine before the doors 
That lead to Ishtar’s glorious inner shrine. 
He bows before her golden form divine, 
Thus prays: 

* “Tn thy fair shrine I bow to thee, 
O Light of Heaven! bright thy majesty 
As glowing flames upon the world doth dawn, 
Bright goddess of the earth, thy fixed abode! 
Who dawned upon the earth a glorious god! 
With thee prosperity hath ever gone. 
To gild the towers of cities of mankind! 
Thou warrior’s god, who rideth on the wind! 
As a hyena fierce thou sendest war, 
And as a lion comes thy raging car. 
Each day thou rulest from thy canopy 
That spreads above in glory,—shines for thee; 
O come, exalted goddess of the Sun!” 


® Against the tyrant King I go to war, 

Attend mine arms, O Queen! with radiant car 

Of battles! ride upon the giant King 

With thy bright, fiery chargers! valor bring 

To me at rising of the glistening car 

Of Samas, send attendants fierce of war! 
bn uses taping erred quemieg tis 03 vest pea Ge 
translation by Rev. A. H. Sayce, M.A., col. iii. f i dat 7) 


in the ‘‘ Records of the Past,” vol. v. 
Pp. 157. 


THE KING WORSHIPS AT THE SHRINE OF ISHTAR 69 


But goddess Mam-nutu of Fate and Death; 
Oh, keep away from me her blasting breath ; 
Let Samas fix the hour with favor thine, 

And o’er mine unknown path, Oh ride divine! 
Thy servant strengthen with thy godly power, 
That he invincible in war may tower, 

Against thy chosen city’s greatest foe, 

Who brought on Erech all her deepest woe.” 
And from the inner shrine with curtains hung, 
The Oracle of Ishtar sweetly sung: 


“O King of vast unnumbered countries, hear! 
Thine enemy Khum-baba do not fear, 
My hands will waft the winds for thee. 
Thus I reveal! 
Khum-baba falls! thine enemy! 
Nor aught conceal. 


“The harvest month ® propitious shines, 
Array great Accad’s battle lines! 
Before thy feet thy Queen descends, 
Before thy will thine Ishtar bends, 
To fight thine enemy, 
To war I go with thee! 
My word is spoken, thou hast heard, 
For thee, my favor thou hast stirred. 
As I am Ishtar of mine Or divine, 
Thine enemy shall fall! Be glory thine! , 


“ Before mine Izdubar I go, 
And at thy side direct thy blow. 
I go with thee, fear not, my King, 
For every doubt and fear, I bring 
Relief, to thy heart rest! 
Of Sars, I love thee best!” 
*The harvest month was the month neiform Inscriptions of Western Asia,” 


of Sivan, which is mentioned by the vol. iv. pl. 68; also “ Records of the 
Oracle of Ishtar of Arbela. See ‘“‘ Cu- Past,” vol. xi. pp. 61-62. 


yo) ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


COLUMN IV 


Tue KInG GOES FROM ISHTAR’S TEMPLE TO THE TEMPLE OF 
SAMAS 


He rose and raised the pendant mystic charms 
And kissed them, and the jewels of her arms 
And ornaments upon her breast divine, 

And then her crown with jewels iridine 

He placed upon his brow, and it returned; 
And from the shrine in reverence he turned; 
To Samas’ temple all the chiefs of war 

And seers, pa-te-si, go with Izdubar. 


Before the fire he stands where holy burns 
The flames of Samas. Ina vase he turns 
The crimson wine, to Samas, God, he pours 
Libation, and his favor thus implores: 


‘O Samas, why hast thou established, raised 

Me in thy heart ?—protected? Men have praised 
Thee, Holy One! my expedition bless 

In thine own will, O God, I acquiesce. 

I go, O Samas, on a path afar, 

Against Khumbaba I declare this war; 

The battle’s issue thou alone dost know, 

Or if success attends me where I go. 

The way is long, O may thy son return 

From the vast pine-tree forest, I would earn 

For Erech glory and renown! Destroy 
Khumbaba and his towers! he doth annoy 

All nations, and is evil to thy sight. 

To-morrow I will go, O send thy Light 

Upon my standards, and dark Nina-zu 

Keep thou ‘away, that I may wary view 

Mine enemies, and fix for me the hour 

When I shall strike and crush Khumbaba’s power. 


To all the gods I humbly pray 
To Izdubar propitious be! 


THE KING GOES TO THE TEMPLE OF SAMAS_ 71 


* Assur Samas u Marduk-u, 
Ana Sar bel-ni-ya lik-ru-bu!” 


And thus the Oracle with sweetest voice 
To him replied, and made his heart rejoice: 


“ Fear not, O Izdubar, 

For I am Bel, thy strength in war.? 
A heart of strength give I to thee! 
To trust, we can but faithful be! 

As thou hast shown to me. 
The sixty gods, our strongest ones, 
Will guide thy path where’er it runs; 
The moon-god on thy right shall ride, 
And Samas on thy left shall guide. 
The sixty gods thy will commands 

To crush Khumbaba’s bands. 
In man alone, do not confide, 
Thine eyes turn to the gods, 
Who rule from their abodes, 
And trust in Heaven where powers abide!” 


With joyous heart the Sar comes from the shrine 
To bathe his brow in Samas’ rays divine; 
Upon the pyramid he stands and views 

The scene below with its bright varied hues. 

A peerless pile the temple grandly shone 

With marble, gold, and silver in the sun; 

In seven stages rose above the walls, 

With archways vast and polished pillared halls. 
A marble portico surrounds the mass 

With sculptured columns, banisters of brass, 
And winding stairways round the stages’ side, 
Grand temples piled on temples upward glide, 
A mass of colors like the rainbow hues, 

Thus proudly rise from breezy avenues. 


2“ Assur Samas and Merodac” xi. p. 63. These oracles seem to be 
(“ Unto the king, my lord, may they formulas which are filled in with the 
be propitious! ’’), the response of the monarch’s name, and may apply to any 
priest to the Je ded king. 

See “Records of the Past,” vol. 


72 ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


The brazen gates lead to the temple’s side, 

The stairs ascend and up the stages glide. 

The basement painted of the darkest blue 

Is passed by steps ascending till we view 

From them the second stage of orange hue 

And crimson third! from thence a glorious view— 
A thousand turrets far beneath, is spread 

O’er lofty walls, and fields, and grassy mead; 
The golden harvests sweep away in sight 

And orchards, vineyards, on the left and right; 
Euphrates’ stream as a broad silver band 

Sweeps grandly through the glowing golden land, 
Till like a thread of silver still in sight 

It meets the Tigris gleaming in the light 

That spreads along the glorious bending skies, 
The brightest vault of all the emperies. 


Now rested from the cushioned seats we rise 
And to the stairway turn again our eyes; 
The fourth stage plated o’er with beaten gold 
We pass, and topaz fifth till we behold 

The sixth of azure blue; to seventh glide, 
That glows with silvery summit where reside 
The gods, within a shrine of silvery sheen 
Which brightly glows, and from afar is seen. 
Without the temple, burnished silver shines; 
Within, pure gold and gems in rare designs. 


COLUMN V 


EXPEDITION AGAINST KHUMBABA, AND BATTLE IN 
BLACK FOREST 


At early. dawn the shining ranks are massed, 
And Erech echoes with the trumpet’s blast; 
The chosen men of Erech are in line, 

And Ishtar in her car above doth shine. 

The blazing standards high with shouts are raised, 
As Samas’ car above grand Sumir blazed. 


THE 


EXPEDITION AGAINST KHUMBABA 13 


The march they sound at Izdubar’s command, 
And thus they start for King Khumbaba’s land; 
The gods in bright array above them shine, 
By Ishtar led, with Samas, moon-god Sin, 
On either side with Merodac and Bel, 

And Ninip, Nergal, Nusku with his spell, 
The sixty gods on chargers of the skies, 

And Ishtar’s chariot before them flies. 


Across Cazina’s desert far have come, 

The armies now have neared Khumbaba’s home; 
Beneath grand forests of tall cedar, pine, 

And the dark shades near Khar-sak’s brow divine. 
A brazen gate before them high appeared, 

And massive walls which their great foe had reared; 
The mighty gates on heavy pivots hung, 

They broke, and on their brazen hinges swung 
With clanging roars against the solid wall, 

And sent through all the wilds a clarion call, 
Within his halls Khumbaba is enthroned, 

In grand Tul-Khumba’s walls by forests zoned 
With her bright palaces and templed shrines, 
The sanctuaries of the gods, where pines 

Sigh on the wafting winds their rich perfumes; 
Where Elam’s god with sullen thunder dooms 
From Kharsak’s brow the wailing nation’s round, 
And Elam’s hosts obey the awful sound. 

The giant here his castled city old 

Had strengthened, wrung his tributes, silver, gold; 
His palace ceiling with pure silver shines, 

And on his throne of gold from Magan’s * mines 
In all his pride the conqueror exults, 

With wealth has filled his massive iron vaults, 
Oft from his marble towers the plains surveys, 
And sees his foes’ most ancient cities blaze; 
While his pa-te-si lead his allied hosts, 

And o’er his famous victories he boasts. 


With Rimsin he allied when Erech fell, 
The King of Sarsa, whose great citadel 


1“ Mag-an ” or ‘‘ Mizir,’”’ Egypt, or the famous mines of Africa. 


94 ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


Was stormed by Nammurabi the great Sar, 
Ninrad of Erech, our King Izdubar. 
Khumbaba’s ally was by him o’erthrown, 

And thus appeared to take Khumbaba’s throne. 
And now within his palace came a sound 

That roared through all the forest, shook the ground: 
“ Our foes! our foes! the gate! hear how it rings! ” 
And from his throne the giant furious springs: 
“Ho! vassals! sound the trump! ’tis Izdubar, 

To arms! our foes are on us from afar!” 

His weapons seizes, drives his men in fear 
Before him with his massive sword and spear, 
And as a tempest from his lips he pours 

His orders, while his warrior steed he spurs 
Along his serried lines of bristling spears; 
Among the pines the army disappears. 


The men of Accad now in squadrons form, 
Arrayed to take Khumbaba’s towers by storm; 
While Izdubar the forest black surveyed 

Of pines and cedars thickly grown, and made 
A reconnoitre of his hidden foe. 

The road was straight; afar the turrets glow 
With Samas’ light, and all the gods arrayed, 
Ride o’er the pines and flash through their dark shade. 
The glorious blaze of Accad’s glistening spears 
One kaspu pass, and now the foe appears; 
Beneath the deepest shadows of the pines 
Khumbaba stands with solid battle lines 

Before the marching host of Izdubar. 

The forest echoes with the shouts of war, 

As they sweep on with ringing battle cries, 
Now loudly echoed from the woods and skies: 

“ Kar-ro! kar-ra!* we follow Izdubar!” 

And through the forests fly the bolts of war. 


The foe beheld the gods in wrath above, 

And Accad’s charging lines toward them move, 
But bravely stand to meet the onset fierce, 
Their mailed armor, shields, no arrows pierce. 


2“ Karral kar-ra!” (cry out) “‘ Hurrah! hurrah! ” 


CONFLICT OF THE RIVAL GIANTS 75 


And now in direst conflict meet the mass, 

And furious still meets ringing bronze and brass, 
Khumbaba on his mighty steed of war, 

Above the ranks towers high a giant Sar, 

And sweeps the men of Accad with his blade, 
Till to his breast a heap of corpses made, 

And fiercely urged his men to fight, to die; 
And Izdubar, with helmet towering high, 

His men has led with fury on the foe, 

And massacres each man with one fell blow, 
Who dares to stand in front with sword or spear, 
And fighting by him stands his valiant seer. 
The gods now rushing from the gleaming sky, 
With blazing weapons carry victory; 

The foe no longer stand before the sight, 

And shouting fly away in wild affright. 

Their monarch turned and slowly rode away; 
And Accad’s hosts his men pursue and slay, 
Until the forest deep resounds with cries. 

To save himself each man in terror flies. 


COLUMN VI 


HAND-TO-HAND CONFLICT OF THE RiIvAL GIANTS—DEATH 
OF KHUMBABA 


Now the black forest through, the Sar and seer 
Sought for their foe, Khumbaba, far and near; 
But he had fled when he beheld the gods 

In fury rushing from their bright abodes. 

Now from the battle-field the King and seer 
The farthest limit of the forest near, 

And passing on, the Sar thus to his seer: 

“The gods have filled our foeman’s heart with fear: 
He comes not forth to meet us neath his walls.” 
But lo! within their sight, far from his halls, 
Khumbaba stands beside his steed of snow 
Held by his queen, and eyes his coming foe. 
Heabani cries: “ Behold the enemy! 

And with his queen from us disdains to fly!” 


76 ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


And Izdubar turned to Heabani, said: 
“ My seer, methought this King from us had fled; 
His army slain or scattered from us fly; 
But by our hands this monarch here must die.” 
Heabani eyed Khumbaba, nor replied 
Before the Queen, who wrung her hands and cried; 
And Izdubar continued: 
“ He, of war, 
It seems, doth lack in skill, and from afar 
He scents the battle, while his fighting men 
Their raids oft make, and here return again; 
His castle we may enter without fear, 
And thou his queen mayst have who standeth here, 
And now we end the reign of Elam’s throne; 
So lend thy hand to strike this monarch prone. 
My friend, if I mistake thee not, for war 
Thou art prepared, since thou upon the car 
Wast wont to ride in former years now gone; 
And if he falls, a feast day of the Sun 
We will appoint, and may the birds of prey 
Surround his carcass on this glorious day: 
But stay! this giant I will slay alone, 
Although his weight is many gur-ri? stone; 
This giant’s form the gods have surely made 
An enemy well worthy of my blade.” 


And Izdubar upon his foe advanced, 

Who waiting stood, and at him fiercely glanced, 
And naught replied; but raised his glory blade. 
Their furious glance, the giant’s queen dismayed. 
She wildly eyed the rivals towering high, 
And breathless stood, then quickly turned to fly, 
As Izdubar upon his heavy shield 

Received Khumbaba’s stroke, and then doth wield 
His massive blade as lightning o’er his head, 

He strikes the giant’s helmet on the mead. 
Khumbaba, furious, strikes a mighty blow, 
Which staggers Izdubar, who on his foe 

1Smith’s ‘‘ Chald. Acc. of Gen.,” corresponding to “ton ’’(?). 


It 
Sayce’ s edition, p. 223, Is. 35 and 41. also used as a measurement of ships. 
* Gur-ri,”” a measurement of eight 


CORONATION OF IZDUBAR 77 


Now springs and rains upon him faster blows, 

Until his blade with fire continuous glows. 

Khumbaba caught his blows on sword and shield 

With parries; thrusts returned, and naught would yield; 
And thus they fought, the peerless kings of war. 

Now Ishtar downward drove his raging car, 

And in Khumbaba’s eyes her rays she cast, 

The giant turned his glance—it was his last; 

Unwary caught, his foe has swung his sword, 
Khumbaba’s gory head rolls o’er the sward. 


ALCOVE Il 


TABLET V—COLUMN I 


CORONATION OF IzDUBAR AS KING OF THE FouR RACES, AND 
APPEARANCE OF ISHTAR IN His RoyAL PRESENCE, WHO 
Sues For His HAND 


To Erech’s palaces returns the Sar, 

Rich laden with Khumbaba’s spoils of war. 

The land of Ur with grandest glories shines— 
And gleams with palaces and towers and shrines. 
The plain with temples, cities, walls is filled, 
And wide canals, and yellow harvests tilled. 
Grand Erech to the sight presents no walls 

In ruins laid, but glows with turrets, halls; 
With splendor proudly shines across the plain. 
And now with joy he meets his courtly train; 
Their shouts of welcome rend the gleaming skies, 
And happiness beams from his people’s eyes. 
Within the walls he rides with kingly pride, 
And all his chiefs and seers beside him ride; 

To his grand palace they now lead the way, 

To crown him king of Subartu this day. 


Arrayed in splendor on his throne, the Sar 
Before him eyes the Kassite spoils of war, 


78 ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


Khumbaba’s crown of gold, and blazing gems, 
The richest of the Kassite diadems, 

The royal sceptre of all Subartu, 

Of Larsa, Ur, Kardunia and Sutu 

The Sar upon his brow the crown now bound, 
Receives the sceptre while his courts resound 
With shouts for Sar-dan-nu of Subartu, 

The Sar of Kip-rat arba* and Sutu, 

Of Sumir, Accad, Nipur, Bar-ili,? 

And Erech, Larsa, Mairu, and Kus-si, 

Of Mal-al-nak, Kitu;—the sky resounds— 
For Iz-zu-bar-ili,? from earth rebounds ; 

For Nam-mu-rabi, Bar-bels king of fire. 
What king to his great glory can aspire? 


The Zig-gur-at-u to the skies 

His hands have built, where holy fires 

To Samas burn; its flame ne’er dies, 

To holiness lead man’s desires. 

He opens wide the fiery gates 

Of all the gods at Dintir old, 

Ka-ding-ir-a.4 This day completes 

His grandeur—may it far be told 

Of our great Sar whose godly gate 

Wide opens Heaven’s joy for man, 

Of Iz-zu-bar-ili the great, 

Who rules from Khar-sak to the main. 

Within the entrance to the royal rooms, 

Queen Ishtar with her train in splendor comes, 
Her radiant form with glistening gems ablaze, 
And shining crescent with its glorious rays, 
Glow with bright Heaven’s unremitting flame ; 
Thus came the Queen of Love of godly fame. 
The richest robe of gods her form enshrines, 


With every charm of Heaven and earth she shines; 


1“* Kip-rat arba,”’ the four races or 8 “ Tzzu-bar-ili’”’ we believe to be the 
original name of Izdubar, 


regions. 
Fi Bar-ili,” from “bar,” gate, and shortened to  Izdubar, 


*ili,”’ of the gods—Babel, Bab—origi- literally the fire-king of “ bar-ili,’? or 
nates from the Accadian word “ bar,” the “ fire-king of the gate of the 


Semitic “ bab;”’ thus Babel was orig- 
inally called ‘‘ bar-ili.”” See Taylor and 


This identifies him with 
founder of Bar-bet or Babylon 


Furst. The latter renders it ‘‘ Bar- 4 Ka-ding-ir-a (Acc.), “‘ gate 


(Bir-) Bel,” “ town of Belus.”’ —Pinches. 


APPEARANCE OF ISHTAR 719 


Of their wide splendors robs the farthest skies, 
That she with love her hero may surprise. 

Her train she robes with liveries of Heaven, 
To her are all the dazzling splendors given. 


The glittering court is filled with chiefs and seers, 
When Ishtar at the entrance now appears, 

The Ner-kalli,® her heralds at the door, 

As some grand sovereign from a foreign shore. 
The goddess proudly enters with her train, 

The spirits of the earth, and tossing main, 

From mountains, rivers, woods, and running streams; 
And every spirit where the sunlight gleams, 

Now fill the courts and palaces and halls, 

And thousands glowing bright surround the walls; 
Each wafting wind brings I-gi-gi ® that soar 
Above An-un-na-ci from every shore, 

And herald Ishtar’s presence, Queen of Love, 
With music through the halls, around, above. 
From lyres and lutes their softest wooings bring, 
As Ishtar bows before her lover king. 

A halo from the goddess fills the halls, 

And shines upon the dazzling jewelled walls. 

The Sar and seers in wonder were amazed 

At the sweet strains, and glorious light that blazed; 
Transfixed in silence stood, as she now spoke, 
And sweeter music through the palace woke. 
Like fragrant zephyrs, warbling from retreats 

Of gardens of the gods, she thus entreats 

From Izdubar her welcome, or a glance 

Of love; and she the Sar would thus entrance: 


“ Thy wisdom, Sar, surpasses all mankind, 

In thee, O king! no blemish do I find. 

The Queen of Heaven favor seeks from thee, 
I come with love, and prostrate bend the knee. 
My follies past, I hope thou wilt forgive, 
Alone I love thee, with thee move and live; 
My heart’s affections to thee, me have led, 


5 ** Ner-kalli,” or ‘‘ Ner-ekalli,” chief 6 “ T.gi-gi,” pronounced “ ¢-gee-gee,” 
of the palace, spirits of heaven. 


ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


To woo thee to thine Ishtar’s marriage bed. 

O kiss me, my beloved! I adore 

Thee! Hear me! I renounce the godly shore 
With all its hollow splendor where as queen 

I o’er the heavenly hosts, unrivaled reign 

In grandest glory on my shining throne; 

And yet for thee my heart here pines alone, 

I cannot live without my Izdubar! 

My husband’s love and simple word shall far 
Surpass the godly bond. O let me, king, 

Rest on thy breast, and happiness will cling 
To all the blissful days which shall be thine. 
With glory of the skies, my love shall shine. 

O Izdubar, my king! this love below 

Is grander here than mortals e’er can know, 
For this I leave my throne in yonder skies, 
And at the feet of love thy queen now lies. 

Oh, let me taste with thee the sweets of love, 
And I my love for thee will grandly prove, 

And thou shalt ride upon a diamond car, 

Lined with pure gold ; and jeweled horns of war 
Shall stud it round like rays of Samas’ fire. 

Rich gifts whate’er my lover shall desire, 

Thy word shall bring to thee, my Sar-dan-nu! 
Lo! all the wealth that gods above can view, 

I bring to thee with its exhaustless store. 

Oh, come my love! within the halls, where more 
Than I have named is found, all, all is thine; 
Oh, come with me within our halls divine! 
Amid the fragrant odors of the pines, 

And all shrubs and flowers, vines, 

Euphrates’ zir-ri there shall sing for thee, 
And dance. around thy feet with zi-mu-ri 7 
And kings and lords and princes I will bring 
To bow to thee, beloved, glorious king! 

With tribute from the mountains and the plains, 
As offerings to thee. Thy flocks shall twins 
Bring forth; and herds of fattened, lowing kine 
Shall fast increase upon the plains divine. 


*“ Zi-mu-ri,” spirits of the light. 


THE KING’S ANSWER 


Thy warrior steeds shall prance with flowing manes, 
Resistless with thy chariot on the plain. 

Vast spoils, thy beasts of burden far shall bear, 
Unrivaled then shall be my king of war; 

And victory o’er all, thine eyes shall view, 

And loud acclaims shall rend the bright Samu.” 


COLUMN Il 


THE Ki1nc’s ANSWER AND ISHTAR’S RAGE 


Amazed the sovereign sat upon his throne; 
And while she wooed, his heart was turned to stone; 
In scorn replied: 


“Rise Ishtar, Heaven’s high queen. 


Though all thy wealth, possessions I had seen 
Now piled before me, all in gems and gold, 
Of all the wealth of Heaven there heaped of old, 
I nakedness and famine would prefer 

To all the wealth divine thou canst confer. 
What carest thou for earthly royalty? 

The cup of poison shall thy lovers see. 

Thou sawest me within a haunt away 

From men. I lingered on that direful day, 
And took thee for a beauteous ¢i-re-mu 1 

Or gi-ar-i-a or a 2t-lit-tu,? 

And thou didst cause to enter love divine. 

As gi-cur-un-1, spirit of the wine, 

Thou didst deceive me with thine arts refined, 
And love escaped upon the passing wind. 
Then to my palace come, and me there seek ; 
Didst place thy mouth upon my lips, and wake 
Within my breast a dream of love and fire, 

Till I awoke and checked thy wild desire; 
Thou camest with the form of spirits fair, 
Didst hover o’er me in my chamber there. 

Thy godly fragrance from the skies above, 

A sign did carry of the Queen of Love: 

I woke, and thou didst vanish, then didst stand 


1“ Zi-re-mu,” spirit of mercy er grace. 


6 


81 


2“ Zi-lit-tu,” spirit of the mist. 


82 | ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


As mine own servant in my palace grand. 

Then as a skulking foe, a mystic spell 

Didst weave, and scorch me with the fires of hell 
While I was wrapped in sleep. Again I woke, 

I saw around me dal-kit, sulphurous smoke, 
Which thou didst send around my royal bed; 
And I believed that I was with the dead, 

With dal-kii gloating over me in hell. 

My su-khu-lt then sought thy presence fell. 
Forever may thy wooing cease! for love 

Hath fled, may godly praises never move 

Upon the lips of holy gods, or men,— 

Of thee, the god of Love ne’er speak again! 

I loved thee once; with love my heart inflamed 
Once sought thee, but my troubles I have blamed 
Upon thee, for the dreams which thou didst send. 
Go! rest thy heart ; and to thy pleasures wend! 


For Tammuz of thy youth thy heart once wailed, 

For years his weary form thy love assailed ; 

Allala next, the eagle, lovest, tore 

His wings. No longer could he joyful soar 

And float above the forest to the sky. 

Thou leavest him with fluttering wings to die. 

A lusty lion thou didst love, his might 

Destroyed, and plucked his claws in fierce delight, 

By sevens plucked, nor heard his piteous cry. 

A glorious war-steed next thy love didst try, 

Who yielded to thee, till his strength was gone: 

For seven kaspu* thou didst ride upon 

Him without ceasing, gave no food nor drink, 

Till he beneath thee to the earth did sink, 

And to his mistress, Sil-i-li, the steed 

Returned with broken spirit, drooping head. 

Thou lovest Tabulu, the shepherd king, 

And from his love continuous didst wring 

Sem-uk-ki,* till he to appease thy love, 

The mighty gods of heaven then sought to move 

$** Seven kaspu,’”? fourteen hours; tarish semukki,” “ thou who didst make 

each Agents was two hours. evil with thy. drugs.” —“‘ Trans. Soc. 


em-uk-ki,” translated by Saye Bib. Arch., vol. v. a TIO. pen hets edi- 
re pibeaat antimony; by Talbot, “ Ta. tion Smith’s “C, A, 229 


ISHTAR COMPLAINS TO ANU 83 


To pity with his daily offerings. 
Beneath thy wand upon the ground he springs, 
Transformed to a hyena; then was driven 
From his own city—by his dogs was riven. 
Next Is-ul-lan-u lov’st, uncouth, and rude, 
Thy father’s laborer, who subject stood 
To thee, and daily scoured thy vessels bright: 
His eyes from him were torn, before thy sight. 
And chained before thee, there thy lover stood, 
With deadly poison placed within his food. 
Thou sayst: 

“© Isullanu, stretch thy hand! 
The food partake, that doth before thee stand!” 
Then with thy hand didst offer him the food. 
He said: ‘ What askest thou? It is not good! 
I will not eat the poison thus prepared.’ 
Thy godly wand him from thy presence cleared, 
Transformed him to a pillar far away. 
And for my love Queen Ishtar comes this day? 
As thou hast done with others, would thy love 
Return to me, thine actions all doth prove.” 


The queen in fury from his presence turned, 

In speechless rage the palace halls she spurned; | 
And proudly from the earth swept to the skies; 
Her godly train in terror quickly flies. 


COLUMN III 


ISHTAR CoMPLAINS TO ANU, KING oF HEAVEN, WHO CREATES 
A WINGED BULL To Destroy ISHTAR 


Before the throne of Anu, Ishtar cries, 

And Anatu, the sovereigns of the skies: 

“O Sar, this king my beauty doth despise, 

My sweetest charms beholds not with his eyes.” 
And Anu to his daughter thus replied: 

“My daughter, thou must crush his vaunting pride, 
And he will claim thy beauty and thy charms, 

And gladly lie within thy glorious arms.” 


84 ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


“T hate him now, O Sar, as I did love! 
Against the strength of Anu let him prove 

His right divine to rule without our aid, 
Before the strength of Anu let him bleed. 
Upon this giant Sar so filled with pride, 

Let Anu’s winged bull * in fury ride, 

And I will aid the beast to strike him prone, 
Till he in death shall breathe his dying groan.” 


And Anu said: 


“ Tf thou to it shall join 


Thy strength, which all thy noble names define 
Thy glories? and thy power thus magnified, 
Will humble him, who has thy power defied.” 


And Ishtar thus: 


“ By all my might as queen 


Of war and battles, where I proudly reign, 

This Sar my hands shall strike upon the plain, 

And end his strength and all his boastings vain. 

By all the noble names with gods I hold 

As queen of war, this giant monarch bold, 

Who o’er mine ancient city thinks to reign, 

Shall lie for birds of prey upon the plain. 

For answering my love for thee with scorn, 

Proud monarch! from thy throne thou shalt be torn! ” 


For Ishtar, Anu from the clouds creates 

A shining monster with thick brazen plates 
And horns of adamant;* and now it flies 
Toward the palace, roaring from the skies. 


COLUMN IV 


THE FIGHT WITH THE WINGED BULL oF ANU 


The gods appear above to watch the fight, 
And Erech’s masari rush in affright 

To Izdubar, who sits upon his throne, 
Before him fall in speechless terror prone. 


1** Anu’s winged bull,” Taurus, con- 
stellation of the heavens. 
3“ Glories ”’ (‘‘ maskhi’’). This word 
is snot beanelared by Mr. Sayce. 
orns of adamant.’’ Sayce trans- 
see in l. 22, col. v., horns of crystal 


—‘‘ thirty manehs of crystal,” etc. The 
meaning probably of “ zamat stone,” 
as given vie Smith, was a hard sub- 
stance, such as the diamond or ada- 
mant. By some translators it has been 
rendered onyx, and others lazuli. 


THE FIGHT WITH THE WINGED BULL OF ANU 


A louder roar now echoes from the skies, 

And Erech’s Sar without the palace flies. 

He sees the monster light upon the plain, 
And calls Heabani with the choicest men 

Of Erech’s spearsmen armed, who fall in line 
Without the gates, led by their Sar divine. 


And now the monster rushed on Izdubar, 

Who meets it as the god of chase and war. 

With whirling sword before the monster’s face, 
He rains his blows upon its front of brass 

And horns, and drives it from him o’er the plain, 
And now with spreading wings it comes again, 
With maddened fury; fierce its eyeballs glare. 

It rides upon the monarch’s pointed spear ; 

The scales the point have turned, and broke the haft. 
Then as a pouncing hawk when sailing daft, 

In swiftest flight o’er him drops from the skies, 
But from the gleaming sword it quickly flies. 
Three hundred warriors now nearer drew 

To the fierce monster, which toward them flew; 
Into their midst the monster furious rushed, 

And through their solid ranks resistless, pushed 
To slay Heabani, onward fought and broke 

Two lines and through the third, which met the shock 
With ringing swords upon his horns and scales. 
At last the seer it reaches, him impales 

With its sharp horns: but valiant is the seer— 
He grasps its crest and fights without a fear. 

The monster from his sword now turns to fly; 
Heabani grasps its tail, and turns his eye 
Towards his king, while scudding o’er the plain. 
So quickly has it rushed and fled amain, 

That Izdubar its fury could not meet, 

But after it he sprang with nimble feet. 


Heabani loosed his grasp and stumbling falls, 

And to his king approaching, thus he calls: 

“ My friend, our strongest men are overthrown: 

But see! he comes! such strength was never known. 


86 ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


With all my might I held him, but he fled! 

We both it can destroy! Strike at its head!” 
Like Rimmon now he flies upon the air, 

As sceptred Nebo,’ he his horns doth bear, 

That flash with fire along the roaring skies, 
2Around the Sar and seer he furious flies. 
Heabani grasps the plunging horns, nor breaks 
His grasp; in vain the monster plunging shakes 
His head, and roaring, upward furious rears. 
Heabani’s strength the mighty monster fears; 
He holds it in his iron grasp, and cries: 

“ Quick! strike!’’ Beneath the blows the monster dies; 
And Izdubar now turned his furious face 
Toward the gods, and on the beast doth place 
His foot; he raised his gory sword on high, 
And sent his shout defiant to the sky: 

“°Tis thus, ye foes divine! the Sar proclaims 
His war against your power, and highest names! 
Hurl! hurl! your darts of fire, ye vile kal-bi! * 
My challenge hear! ye cravens of the sky!” 


COLUMN V 


THe Curse oF ISHTAR, AND REJOICING OF ERECH OVER THE 
| VICTORY 


The monarch and his seer have cleft the head 
From Anu’s bull prone lying on the mead. 
They now command to bring it from the plain 
Within the city where they view the slain. 
The heart they brought to Samas’ holy shrine, 
Before him laid the offering divine. 

Without the temple’s doors the monster lays, 
And Ishtar o’er the towers the bulk surveys; 
She spurns the carcass, cursing thus, she cries: 
“Woe! woe to Izdubar, who me defies! 

My power has overthrown, my champion slain; 
Accurséed Sar! most impious of men! ” 


1** Nebo,” the holder of the sceptre 2 Around” (“tarka”), or it may 
of power; also the god of prophecy. mean _ “‘ between.” 
8 “* Kal-bi,”” dogs. 


THE CURSE OF ISHTAR 


Heabani heard the cursing of the Queen, 

And from the carcass cleft the tail in twain, 

Before her laid it; to the goddess said: 

“And wherefore comest thou with naught to dread? 
Since I with Izdubar have conquered thee, 

Thou hearest me! Before thee also see 


Thine armored champion’s scales! thy beast is dead,” 


And Ishtar from his presence furious fled, 

And to her maids the goddess loudly calls 

Joy and Seduction from the palace halls; 

And o’er her champion’s death she mourning cries, 
And flying with her maids, sped to the skies. 


King Izdubar his summons sends afar 

To view the monster slain by Erech’s Sar. 

The young and old the carcass far surround, 
And view its mighty bulk upon the ground. 

The young men eye its horns with wild delight, 
And weigh them on the public scales in sight 
Of Erech. “ Thirty manehs weighs!” they cry; 
“Of purest zamat stone, seems to the eye 

In substance, with extremities defaced.” 

Six gurri weighed the monster’s bulk undressed. 
As food for Lugul-turda, their Sar’s god, 

The beast is severed, placed upon the wood. 
Piled high upon the altar o’er the fires. 

Then to Euphrates’ waters each retires 

To cleanse themselves for Erech’s grand parade, 
As Izdubar by proclamation bade. 

Upon their steeds of war with Izdubar 

The chiefs and warriors extend afar 

With chariots, and waving banners, spears, 

And Erech rings with their triumphant cheers. 
Before the chariot of their great Sar, 

Who with his seer rides in his brazen car, 

The seers a proclamation loud proclaim 

And cheer their Sar and seer; and laud the name 
Of their great monarch, chanting thus his praise, 
While Erech’s band their liveliest marches play: 


87 


88 ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


“If anyone to glory can lay claim 
Among all chiefs and warriors of fame, 
We Izdubar above them all proclaim 
Our Izzu-Ul-bar+ of undying fame. 
Sar gabri la isu, 
Sar-dannu bu-mas-lu!? 


“He wears the diadem of Subartu, 
From Bar-ili ® he came to Eridu; 
Our giant monarch, who of all barri* 
Can rival him, our Nin-arad rabi? > 
Sar-dannu ina mati basi, 
Sar bu-mas-la e-mu-ki, nesi.® 


Through the grand halls of Erech far resounds 

The feast their Sar proclaimed through all the grounds 
Of Erech’s palaces; where he now meets 

His heroes, seers and counsellors, and greets 

Them in his crowded festal halls. 

Grand banquets far are spread within the walls, 

And sparkling rarest wines each freely drank, 

And revels ruled the hour till Samas sank, 

And shadows sweep across the joyous plain, 

And Samas sleeps with Hea ’neath the main. 

The jewelled lamps are lit within the halls, 

And dazzling glory on the feasters falls. 

The rays o’er gems and richest garments shone 
Upon the lords and ladies round the throne; 

While troops of dancing girls around them move 
With cmybals, harps and lutes, with songs of love. 
Again the board glows with rich food and wines, 
Now spread before them till each man reclines 
Upon his couch at rest in the far night, 

And swimming halls and wines pass from their sight. 


2¢¢ “Aang Ul-bar,” the fire of Bel’s 


tem 
52 tine King who has no rival. The 
endl edn King.” The royal titles 
of Izdu 
8 “* Bar- il, ” temple, or country of the 
gods. 


4 ** Barri,” chieftains, army, soldiers. 
5 “ Nin-arad rabi,’ ‘the servant of 
Nin, the King. 

6‘* Who is ie great king (in the 
land) of all countries, the powerful 
giant king, the lion!’ The royal titles 
of Izdubar. 


ISHTAR WEAVES A MYSTIC SPELL 89 


COLUMN VI 


IsHTAR WEAVES A Mystic SPELL OvER THE KING AND SEER, 
AND VANISHES—THE SEER ADVISES THE KING TO SEEK 
THE AID OF THE IMMORTAL SEER WHO ESCAPES FROM 
THE FLOop. 


The goddess Ishtar wrapped in darkness waits 
Until the goddess Tsil-at-tu? the gates 

Of sleep has closed upon the darkened plain; 
Then lightly to the palace flies the Queen. 
O’er the King’s couch she weaves an awful dream, 
While her bright eyes upon him furious gleam. 
Then o’er Heabani’s couch a moment stands, 
And Heaven’s curtains pulls aside with hands 
Of mystic power, and he a vision sees— 

The gods in council ;—vanishing, she flees 
Without the palace like a gleam of light, 

And wakes the guard around in wild affright. 


Next day the seer reveals to Izdubar 

How all the gods a council held of war, 

And gave to Anu power to punish them 

For thus defying Ishtar’s godly claim; 

And thus the seer gave him his counsel, well 
Considered, how to meet their plottings fell: 


“To Khasisadra go, who from the flood 

Escaped when o’er the earth the waters stood 
Above mankind, and covered all the ground; 

He at the river’s mouth may yet be found. 

For his great aid, we now the seer must seek, 

For Anu’s fury will upon us break. 

Immortal lives the seer beside the sea; 

Through Hades pass, and soon the seer mayst see.” 


Thus Izdubar replied, and him embraced: 
“ With thee, Heabani, I my throne have graced; 


1* Tsil-at-tu,’”’ goddess of darkness, or shades of night. 


go ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


With thee I go, mine own companion dear, 
And on the road each other we may cheer.” 
“ The way is long, my King, and if I live, 
- With thee I go, but oh, thou must not grieve, 
For perils great attend the way, and old 
Am I: the suppleness of youth to hold 
My strength I need, but it alas! is gone. 
My heart is ready, but I fear, my son, 
These crippled limbs which Anu’s bull hath left 
Of my strong vigor, have thy seer bereft. 
Too weak am I, for that long journey hard 
To undertake ; my presence would retard 
Thee,—with these wounds; nor strength have I to last 
To guard my body in the mountain fast. 
But if thou wilt, my strength is thine, my King! 
To do thy will my agéd form shall spring 
With gladness, and all perils I’ll defy; 
If need be, for thee will thy servant die.” 


“ Heabani, noble one! my chosen seer! 

I love thee, bid thy loyal heart good cheer. 

He steeds may take to ride through all the way, 
With easy journeys on the road each day; 
From perils I will guard thee, and defend; 
To-morrow then we on our way will wend.” 


Equipped for the long journey they appear 
Next morn and leave, while Erech’s people cheer 
Them on their way across the glowing plain, 

To perils dire they go—distress and pain. 


ISHTAR’S DESCENT TO HADES gI 


TABLET VI—COLUMN I 
IsHTAR’S DESCENT TO Hapres—Her FEARFUL RECEPTION 


To Hades’ darkened land, whence none return, 
Queen Ishtar, Sin’s great daughter, now doth turn; 
Inclined her ear and listened through the void 

That lay beneath of every path devoid, 

The home of darkness, of the Under-World, 

Where god Ir-kal-la* from the heights was hurled. 
The land and road from whence is no return, 
Where light no entrance hath to that dark bourne; 
Where dust to dust returns, devouring clods; 
Where light dwells not in Tsil-lat-tus abodes ; 
Where sable ravens hovering rule the air; 

O’er doors and bolts dust reigneth with despair. 
Before the gates of gloom the Queen now stands, 
And to the keeper Ishtar thus commands: 

“O keeper of the waters! open wide 

Thy gate, that I through these dark walls may glide; 
But if thou open’st not the gate for me, 

That I may enter, shattered thou shalt see 

The doors and bolts before thee lying prone, 

And from the dust shall rise each skeleton, 

With fleshless jaws devour all men with thee, 

Till death shall triumph o’er mortality.” 

The keeper to the Princess Ishtar said: 

“ Withhold thy speech! or Allat’s fury dread! 

To her I go to bid thee welcome here.” 

To Allat then the keeper doth appear: 

“Thy sister Ishtar the dark waters seeks— 

The Queen of Heaven,” thus Allat’s fury breaks. 
“So like an herb uprooted comes this Queen, 

To sting me as an asp doth Ishtar mean? 

What can her presence bring to me but hate? 

Doth Heaven’s Queen thus come infuriate?” 

And Ishtar thus replies: ‘“‘ The fount I seek, 
1 Tr-kal-la,” the King of Hades, who Tiamatu, the catego of chaos, against 


was hurled from the heights of heaven the reign of the gods of heaven. 
with the evil gods who rebelled with 


ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


Where I with Tammuz, my first love, may speak; 
And drink its waters, as sweet nectar-wines, 
Weep o’er my husband, who in death reclines ; 
My loss as wife with handmaids I deplore, 

O’er my dear Tammuz let my teardrops pour.” 
And Allat said, “Go! keeper, open wide 

The gates to her! she hath me once defied; 
Bewitch her as commanded by our laws.” 

To her thus Hades opened wide its jaws. 


“ Within, O goddess! Cutha thee receives! 

Thus Hades’ palace its first greeting gives.” 

He seized her, and her crown aside was thrown. 
“O why, thou keeper, dost thou seize my crown?” 
“Within, O goddess! Allat thee receives! 

’Tis thus to thee our Queen her welcome gives.” 
Within the next gate he her earrings takes, 

And goddess Ishtar now with fury shakes. 

“Then why, thou slave, mine earrings take away? * 
“Thus entrance, goddess, Allat bids this day.” 
At the third gate her necklace next he takes, 

And now in fear before him Ishtar quakes. 

“ And wilt thou take from me my gems away?” 
“Thus entrance, goddess, Allat bids this day.” 
And thus he strips the goddess at each gate, 

Of ornaments upon her breast and feet 

And arms; her bracelets, girdle from her waist, 
Her robe next took, and flung the Queen undrest 
Within a cell of that dark solitude. 

At last, before Queen Ishtar Allat stood, 

When she had long remained within the walls, 
And Allat mocked her till Queen Ishtar falls 
Humiliated on the floor in woe; 

Then turning wildly, cursed her ancient foe. 
Queen Allat furious to her servant cries: 

“ Go! Naintar! with disease strike blind her eyes! 
And strike her side! her breast and head and feet; 
With foul disease her strike, within the gate! ” 


EFFECT OF ISHTAR’S IMPRISONMENT 93 


COLUMN II 


EFFECT OF ISHTAR’S IMPRISONMENT IN HADES—LOVE DEPARTS 
FROM THE EARTH—THE EARTH’S SOLEMN DIRGE OF WOE. 


When Ishtar, Queen of Love, from Earth had flown, 
With her love fled, and left all nature prone; 

From Earth all peace with love then fled amain. 

In loneliness the bull stalked o’er the plain, 

And tossed his drooping crest toward the sky, 

In sadness lay upon the green to die; 

On the far kine looked weary and bereaved, 

And turned toward the gods, and wondering grieved. 
The troubled kine then gravely chewed their cud, 
And hungerless in the rich pastures stood. 

The ass his mate abandoned, fled away, 

And loveless wives then cursed the direful day; 
And loving husbands kiss their wives no more, 

And doves their cooing ceased, and separate soar; 
And love then died in all the breasts of men, 

And strife supreme on earth was reveling then. 


The sexes of mankind their wars divide, 

And women hate all men, and them deride; 

And some demented hurl aside their gowns, 

And queens their robes discard and jewelled crowns, 
And rush upon the streets bereft of shame, 

Their forms expose, and all the gods defame. 
Alas! from earth the Queen of Love has gone, 
And lovers ’void their haunts with faces wan 

And spurn from them the hateful thought of love, 
For love no longer reigns, all life to move. 

An awful thrill now speeds through Hades’ doors, 
And shakes with horror all the dismal floors; 

A wail upon the breeze through space doth fly, 
And howling gales sweep madly through the sky; 
Through all the universe there speeds a pang 
Of travail. Mam-nu-tu? appalled doth hang 


1‘* Mam-nu-tu,” goddess of fate. 


94 ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


Upon her blackened pinions in the air, 

And piteous from her path leads Black Despair, 
“The queen in chains in Hades dying lies, 

And life with her,” they cry, “ forever dies!” 
. Through misty glades and darkened depths of space, 
Tornadoes roar her fate to Earth’s sweet face; 

The direful tidings from far Hades pour 

Upon her bosom with their saddest roar; 

Like moans of mighty powers in misery, 

They bring the tale with awful minstrelsy. 

And Earth her mists wrapped round her face in woe, 
While icy pangs through all her breast deep flow. 
Her bosom sobbing wails a mighty moan, 

“ Alas! forever my sweet queen hath flown! ” 

With shrieks of hurricane, and ocean’s groan, 

And sobbing of the winds through heights unknown, 
Through mountain gorges sweep her wails of woe, 
Through every land and seas, her sorrows flow: 
Oh, moan! oh, moan! dear mountains, lakes, and seas! 
Oh, weep with me dear plants, and flowers, and trees! 
Alas! my beauty fading now will die! 

Oh, weep, ye stars, for me in every sky! 

Oh, Samas, hide thy face! I am undone! 

Oh, weep with me Ur-ru,’ my precious son. 

Let all your notes of joy, my birds, be stilled; 

Your mother’s heart with dread despair is filled: 


Come back, my flowerets, with your fragrant dews; 
Come, all my beauties, with your brightest hues; 

Come back, my plants and buds and youngling shoots! 
Within your mother’s bosom hide your roots. 

Oh, children, children! Love hath fled away, 

Alas! that life I gave should see this day! 

Your queen lies dying in her awful woe, 

Oh, why should she from us to Hades go?”’ 


Wide Nature felt her woe, and ceased to spring, 
And withered buds their vigor lost, and fling 
No more their fragrance to the lifeless air ; 

The fruit-trees died, or barren ceased to bear; 


8* Ur-ru,” the moon-god. 


PAPSUKUL INTERCEDES FOR ISHTAR 95 


The male plants kiss their female plants no more; 
And pollen on the winds no longer soar 

To carry their caresses to the seed 

Of waiting hearts that unavailing bleed, 

Until they fold their petals in despair, 

And dying, drop to earth, and wither there. 

The growing grain no longer fills its head, 
The fairest fields of corn lie blasted, dead. 

All Nature mourning dons her sad attire, 

And plants and trees with falling leaves expire. 
And Samas’ light and moon-god’s soothing rays 
Earth’s love no more attracts; recurring days 
Are shortened by a blackness deep profound 
That rises higher as the days come round. 

At last their light flees from the darkened skies, 
The last faint gleam now passes, slowly dies. 
Upon a blasted world, dread darkness falls, 
O’er dying nature, crumbling cities’ walls. 
Volcanoes’ fires are now the only light, 

Where pale-faced men collect around in fright; 
With fearful cries the lurid air they rend, 

To all the gods their wild petitions send. 


COLUMN III 


PAPSUKUL, THE Gop oF Hore, AND HERALD OF THE Gops, FLIES 
FROM THE EARTH AND INTERCEDES FOR THE RELEASE OF 
ISHTAR, AND HEA GRANTS HIS PRAYER 


O Hope! thou fleeting pleasure of the mind, 
Forever with us stay, our hearts to bind! 

We cling to thee till life has fled away ; 

Our dearest phantom, ever with us stay! 

Without thee, we have naught but dread despair, 
The worst of all our torments with us here; 

Oh, come with thy soft pinions, o’er us shine! 
And we will worship thee, a god divine: 

The ignis fatuus of all our skies 

That grandly leads us, vanishes and dies, 


ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


And we are left to grope in darkness here, 
Without a ray of light our lives to cheer, 

Oh, stay! sweet Love’s companion, ever stay! 
And let us hope with love upon our way! 
We reck not if a phantom thou hast been, 
And we repent that we have ever seen 

Thy light on earth to lead us far astray ; 
Forever stay! or ever keep away! 


When Papsukul beheld in man’s abodes 

The change that spread o’er blasted, lifeless clods, 
And heard earth’s wailing through the waning light, 
With vegetation passing out of sight, 

From the doomed world to Heaven he quickly flies, 
While from the earth are rising fearful cries. 

To Samas’ throne he speeds with flowing tears, 

And of the future dark he pours his fears. 

To Sin, the moon-god, Pap-su-kul now cries 

O’er Ishtar’s fate, who in black Hades lies; 

O’er Earth’s dire end, which with Queen Ishtar dies; 
To Hea he appeals with mournful cries: 


“©O Hea, our Creator, God and King! 

Queen Ishtar now is lying prone. 

To Earth, our godly queen again, oh, bring! 
I trust thy love, O Holy One! 

To all the gods who reign o’er us on high 
I pray! thus Hope thine aid implores, 

Release our queen! To Hades quickly fly! 
Thy Pap-su-kul with faith adores. 


“ The bull hath left the lowing kine bereaved, 

And sulking dies in solitude; 

The ass hath fled away, his mates hath grieved, 
And women are no more imbued 

With love, and drive their husbands far away, 
And wives enjoy not their caress; 

All peace and love have gone from earth this day, 
And love on earth knows not its bliss. 


HEA GRANTS HIS PRAYER 


“The females die through all the living world, 

Among all beasts, and men, and plants ; 

All love from them on earth have madly hurled, 
For blissful love no more each pants; 

And Samas’ light is turned away from Earth, 
And left alone volcanoes’ fire; 

The land is filled with pestilence and dearth, 
All life on earth will soon expire.” 


When Hea heard the solemn chant of Hope, 
From his high throne he let his sceptre drop, 
And cried: “ And thus, I rule o’er all mankind! 
For this, I gave them life, immortal mind; 
To earth’s relief, my herald shall quick go, 

I hear thy prayer, and song of Ishtar’s woe.” 


“Go! At-su-su-namir, with thy bright head! 
With all thy light spring forth! and quickly speed; 
Towards the gates of Hades, turn thy face! 
And quickly fly for me through yonder space. 
Before thy presence may the seven gates 
Of Hades open with their gloomy grates; 
May Allat’s face rejoice before thy sight, 
Her rage be soothed, her heart filled with delight; 
But conjure her by all the godly names, 
And fearless be,—towards the roaring streams 
Incline thine ear, and seek the path there spread. 
Release Queen Ishtar! raise her godly head! 
And sprinkle her with water from the stream; 
Her purify! a cup filled to the brim 
Place to her lips that she may drink it all. 
The herald as a meteor doth fall, 
With blazing fire disparts the hanging gloom 
Around the gates of that dark world of doom.” 

7 


97 


98 ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


COLUMN IV 


RELEASE OF ISHTAR—HER ATTEMPTS TO BRING TO LIFE 
TAMMUZ, HER First LOVER 


When Allat saw the flaming herald come, 
And his bright light dispelling all her gloom, 
She beat her breast; and at him furious foams 
In rage, and stamping shakes all Hades’ domes, 
Thus cursed the herald, At-su-su-namir: 

“ Away! thou herald! or I’ll chain thee here 

In my dark vaults, and throw thee for thy food 
The city’s garbage, which has stagnant stood, 
With impure waters for thy daily drink, 

And lodge thee in my prison till you sink 

From life impaled in yonder dismal room 

Of torture; to thy fate so thou hast come? 
Thine offspring with starvation I will strike!” 


At last obedient doth Allat speak: 

“Go, Namtar! and the iron palace strike! 

O’er Asherim * adorned let the dawn break! 

And seat the spirits on their thrones of gold! 

Let Ishtar Life’s bright waters then behold, 

And drink her fill, and bring her then to me; 

From her imprisonment, I send her free.” 

And Namtar then goes through the palace walls, 
And flings the light through all the darkened halls, 
And places all the spirits on their thrones, 

Leads Ishtar to the waters near the cones. 

She drinks the sparkling water now with joy, 
Which all her form doth cleanse and purify. 

And he at the first gate her robe returns, 

And leads her through the second; where he turns, 


1** Asherim,”’ literally ‘‘ stone stakes ”’ 
or “cones,” the symbols of the god- 
dess Asherah or Ishtar (Sayce), but 
Calmet says that the god Ashima is a 
deity of very uncertain origin, and that 
the name ‘‘ Ashima ”’ may be very well 
compared with the Persian ‘‘ asuman ’”’ 
(‘heaven’); in ‘ Zend,” ‘‘ acmano,”’ 
so Gesenius in his Man. Lex., 1832. 
This also, according to the magi, is the 


mame of the angel of death, who 
separates the souls of men from their 
bodies, Cal. Dic., p. 106. Cones are to 
be seen in the British Museum which 
are probably of the character which 
represented Elah-Gabalah, the sun-god, 
adored in Rome during the reign of 
Heliogabalus. The symbol and wor- 
ship came from Hamath in Syria. 


RELEASE OF ISHTAR 


And gives her bracelets back ;—thus at each door 
Returns to her her girdle, gems; then o’er 

Her queenly brow he placed her shining crown. 
With all her ornaments that were her own, 

She stands with pride before the seventh gate, 

And Namtar bows to her in solemn state: 


“Thou hast no ransom to our queen here paid 
For thy deliverance, yet thou hast said 

Thy Tammuz thou didst seek within our walls, 
Turn back! and thou wilt find him in these halls. 
To bring him back to life the waters pour 

Upon him; they thy Tammuz will restore; 

With robes thou mayst adorn him and a crown 
Of jewels, and thy maid with thee alone 

Shall give thee comfort and appease thy grief. 
Kharimtu, Samkha come to thy relief!” 


Now Ishtar lifts her eyes within a room 
Prepared for her, and sees her maidens come, 
Before a weird procession wrapped in palls, 
That soundless glide within and fills the halls. 
Before her now they place a sable bier 

Beside the fount; and Ishtar, drawing near, 


‘Raised the white pall from Tammuz’s perfect form. 


The clay unconscious, had that mystic charm 
Of Beauty sleeping sweetly on his face,— 
Of agony or sorrow left no trace: 

But, oh! that awful wound of death was there 


With its deep mark ;—the wound, and not the scar. 


When Ishtar’s eyes beheld it, all her grief 

Broke forth afresh, refusing all relief; 

She smote her breast in woe, and moaning cried, 
Nor the bright waters to his wound applied: 

“O Tammuz! Tammuz! turn thine eyes on me! 
Thy queen thou didst adorn, before thee see! 
Behold the emeralds and diamond crown 

Thou gavest me when I became thine own! 
Alas! he answers not; and must I mourn 
Forever o’er my love within this bourne? 


99 


100 ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


But, oh! the waters from this glowing stream! 
Perhaps those eyes on me with love will beam, 
And I shall hear again his song of love. 

Oh, quickly let these waters to me prove 

Their claim to banish death with magic power! ” 


Then with her maids, she o’er his form doth pour 
The sparkling drops of life— 
“He moves! he lives! 
What happiness is this my heart receives? 
O come, my Tammuz! to my loving arms!” 


And on breast his breathing form she warms; 
With wondering eyes he stares upon his queen, 
And nestling closed his eyes in bliss again. 


COLUMN V 


TAMMUZ IS RESTORED TO LIFE BY THE WATERS OF LIFE—HIS 
SonG OF LOVE 


The nectared cup the queen placed to his lips, 

And o’er his heaving breast the nectar drips, 

And now his arms are folded round his queen, 

And her fond kisses he returns again ; 

And see! they bring to him his harp of gold, 

And from its strings, sweet music as of old 

His skilful hands wake through the sounding domes; 
Oh, how his Song of Love wakes those dark rooms! 


““My Queen of Love comes to my arms! 
Her faithful eyes have sought for me, 
My Love comes to me with her charms; 
Let all the world now happy be! 
My queen has come again! 


Forever, dearest, let me rest 
Upon the bosom of my queen! 
Thy lips of love are honeyed best ; 
Come! let us fly to bowering green! 
To our sweet bower again. 


TAMMUZ’'S SONG OF LOVE IOI 


O Love on Earth! O Love in Heaven! 
That dearest gift which gods have given, 
Through all my soul let it be driven, 
And make my heart its dearest haven, 
For Love returns the kiss! 


Oh! let me pillow there within 
Thy breast, and, oh, so sweetly rest, 
My life anew shall there begin; 
On thy sweet charms, oh, let me feast! 
Life knows no sweeter bliss. 


Oh, let me feast upon thy lips, 
As honey-bird the nectar sips, 
And drink new rapture through my lips, 
As honey-bee its head thus drips 
In nectarine abyss! 


O Love, sweet queen! my heart is thine! 
My Life I clasp within mine arms! 
My fondest charmer, queen divine! 
My soul surrenders to thy charms, 
In bliss would fly away. 


No dearer joy than this I want ; 

If love is banished from that life 
There bodyless, my soul would pant, 
And pine away in hopeless grief, 

If love be fled away. 


If Love should hide and fold her wings 
In bowers of yonder gleaming skies, 
Unmeaning then each bard oft sings 
Of bliss that lives on earth and dies,— 
I want such love as this. 


I want thy form, thy loving breast, 
Mine arms of love surrounding thee, 
And on thy bosom sweetly rest, 
Or else that world were dead to me. 
No other life is bliss. 


102 ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


If it is thus, my queen, I go 
With joy to yonder blissful clime ; 
But if not so, then let me flow 
To soil and streams through changing time, 
To me would be more bliss. 


For then, in blooming flowerets, I 
Could earth adorn, my soul delight, 
And never thus on earth could die; 
For though I should be hid from sight, 
Would spring again with joy! 


And sing as some sweet warbling bird, 
Or in the breezes wave as grain, 

As yellow sun-birds there have whirred 
On earth, could I thus live again, 
That beauteous world enjoy! 


*Mid safflower-fields or waving cane, 
Or in the honeysuckles lie, 
In forms of life would breathe again, 
Enjoy Earth’s sweetest revelry, 
And ever spring again! 


Fach life to me new joys would bring, 
In breast of beast or bird or flower, 
In each new form new joys would spring, 
And happy, ever, Love would soar! 
Triumphant filled with joy! 


In jujube or tamarisk 
Perhaps would come to life again, 
Or in the form of fawns would frisk 
*Mid violets upon the plain; 
But I should live again! 


And throb beneath the glistening dew, 
In bamboo tufts, or mango-trees, 
In lotus bloom, and spring anew, 
_In rose-tree bud, or such as these 
On Earth return again! 


ESCAPE OF TAMMUZ FROM HADES 103 


And I should learn to love my mate, 
In beast or singing bird or flower, 
For kiss of love in hope could wait ; 
Perhaps I then would come that hour, 
In form I have again! 


And love you say, my queen, is there, 
Where I can breathe with life anew? 
But is it so? My Love, beware! 
For some things oft are false, some true, 
But I thee trust again! 


We fly away! from gates away! 
Oh, life of bliss! Oh, breath of balm! 
With wings we tread the Silver Way, 
To trailing vines and feathery palm, 
To bower of love again.” 


COLUMN VI 


EscaPpE OF TAMMUZ FROM Hapes—His DEATH IN THE 
CLouDS—FUNERAL PROCESSION OF THE Gops—ISHTAR’S 
ELecy Over THE DEATH oF TAMMUZ—HuIs REVIVAL IN 
HADES, WHERE HE 1s CROWNED AS THE LorD oF HapEes— 
IsHTARS RETURN Brincs LiGHT AND Love Back To 
EARTH. 


But see! they pass from those dark gates and walls, 
And fly upon the breeze from Hades’ halls, 

Hark! hark! the sounding harp is stilled! it falls 
From Tammuz’s hands! Oh, how its wailing calls 
To you bright zi-ni+ flying through the skies, 
See! one sweet spirit of the wind swift flies 

And grasps the wailing harp before it ends 

Its wail of woe, and now beneath it bends, 

With silent pinions listening to its strings, 

Wild sobbing on the winds ;—with wailing rings 
The conscious harp, and trembles in her hands. 


1“ Zi-ni,” pronounced ‘“‘ Zee-nee,”’ spirits of the wind. 


£04 ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


A rush of pinions comes from myriad lands, 
With moanings sends afar the awful tale, 

And mourners brings with every whispering gale. 
And see! the queen’s companion fainting sinks! 
She lays him on that cloud with fleecy brinks! 
And oh! his life is ebbing fast away! 

She wildly falls upon his breast, and gray 

Her face becomes with bitter agony. 

She tearless kneels, wrapt in her misery 

And now upon his breast she lays her head, 

With tears that gods, alas! with men must shed; 
She turning, sobs to her sweet waiting maids, 
Who weeping o’er her stand with bended heads: 
“Assemble, oh, my maids, in mourning here, 
The gods! and spirits of the earth bring near!” 


They come! they come! three hundred spirits high, 

The heavenly spirits come! the I-gi-gi! 

From Heaven’s streams and mouths and plains and vales, 
And gods by thousands on the wings of gales. 

The spirits of the earth, An-un-na-ci, 

Now join around their sisters of the sky. 

Hark! hear her weeping to the heavenly throng, 
Imploring them to chant their mournful song: 


“With your gold lyres, the dirge, oh, sing with me! 
And moan with me, with your sweet melody ; 

With swelling notes, as zephyrs softly wail, 

And cry with me as sobbing of the gale. 

O Earth! dear Earth! oh, wail with thy dead trees! 
With sounds of mountain torrents, moaning seas! 
And spirits of the lakes, and streams, and vales, 
And Zi-ku-ri of mountains’ trackless trail, 

Join our bright legions with your queen! Oh, weep 
With your sad tears, dear spirits of the deep! 

Let all the mournful sounds of earth be heard, 

The breeze hath carried stored from beast and bird; 
Join the sweet notes of doves for their lost love 

To the wild moans of hours,—wailing move; 


FUNERAL PROCESSION OF THE GODS 


Let choirs of Heaven and of the earth then peal, 
All living beings my dread sorrow feel! 

Oh, come with saddest, weirdest melody, 

Join earth and sky in one sweet threnody!”’ 


Ten thousand times ten thousand now in line, 
In all the panoplies of gods divine; 

A million crowns are shining in the light, 

A million sceptres, robes of purest white! 
Ten thousand harps and lutes and golden lyres 
Are waiting now to start the Heavenly choirs. 


And lo! a chariot from Heaven comes, 

While halves rise from yonder sapphire domes; 
A chariot incrusted with bright gems, 

A blaze of glory shines from diadems. 

See! in the car the queen o’er Tammuz bends, 
And nearer the procession slowly wends, 

Her regal diadem with tears is dimmed; 

And her bright form by sorrow is redeemed 
To sweeter, holier beauty in her woe; 

Her tears a halo form and brighter flow. 


Caparisoned with pearls, ten milk-white steeds 
Are harnessed to her chariot that leads; 

On snow-white swans beside her ride her maids, 
They come! through yonder silver cloudy glades! 
Behind her chariot ten sovereigns ride; 

Behind them comes all Heaven’s lofty pride, 
On pale white steeds, the chargers of the skies. 
The clouds of snowy pinions rustling rise! 

But hark! what is that strain of melody 

That fills our souls with grandest euphony? 
Hear how it swells and dies upon the breeze! 
To softest whisper of the leaves of trees; 

Then sweeter, grander, nobler, sweeping comes, 


Like myriad lyres that peal through Heaven’s domes. 


But, oh! how sad and sweet the notes now come! 
Like music of the spheres that softly hum; 
It rises, falls, with measured melody, 


105 


106 


ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


With saddest notes and mournful symphony. 

From all the universe sad notes repeat 

With doleful strains of woe transcendent, sweet; 
Hush! hear the song! my throbbing heart be still! 
The songs of gods above the heavens fill! 


“ Oh, weep with your sweet tears, and mourning chant, 
O’er this dread loss of Heaven’s queen. 
With her, O sisters, join your sweetest plaint 
O’er our dear Tammuz, Tammuz slain. 
Come, all ye spirits, with your drooping wings, 
No more to us sweet joy he brings; 
Ah, me, my brother! ? 


Oh, weep! oh, weep! ye spirits of the air, 
Oh, weep! oh, weep! An-un-na-ci! 
Our own dear queen is filled with dread despair. 
Oh, pour your tears, dear earth and sky, 
Oh, weep with bitter tears, O dear Sedu, 
O’er fearful deeds of Nin-azu ; 
Ah, me, my brother! 


Let joy be stilled! and every hope be dead! 
And tears alone our hearts distil. 
My love has gone !—to darkness he has fled; 
Dread sorrow’s cup for us, oh, fill! 
And weep for Tammuz we have held so dear, 
Sweet sisters of the earth and air; 
Ah, me, my sister! 


Oh, come ye, dearest, dearest Zi-re-nu, 
With grace and mercy help us bear 
Our loss and hers; our weeping queen, oh, see! 
And drop with us a sister’s tear. 
Before your eyes our brother slain! oh, view; 
Oh, weep with us o’er him so true; 
Ah, me, his sister! 


2“ Ah, me, my brother, and, ah, me, 
my sister! Ah, me, Adonis (or Tam- 
muz), and ah, me, his lady (or 
queen)! ”’ is the’ wailing cry uttered by 
the worshippers of Tammuz or Adonis 
when celebrating his untimely death. 


It is referred to in Jer. xxii. 18, and 
in Ezek. viii. 14, and Amos viii. 10, and 
Zech. xii. 10, 11. See Smith’s revised 
edition of “Chal. Acc. of Fieioiges ” by 
Sayce, pp. 247, 248 


ISHTAR’S RETURN TO EARTH 107 


The sky is dead; its beauty all is gone, 
Oh, weep, ye clouds, for my dead love! 
Your queen in her dread sorrow now is prone. 
O rocks and hills in tears, oh, move! 
And all my heavenly flowerets for me weep, 
O’er him who now in death doth sleep; 
Ah, me, my Tammuz! 


Oh, drop o’er him your fragrant dewy tears, 
For your own queen who brings you joy, 
For Love, the Queen of Love, no longer cheers, 
Upon my heart it all doth cloy. 
Alas! I give you love, nor can receive, 
O all my children for me grieve; 
Ah, me, my Tammuz! 


Alas! alas! my heart is dying—dead! 
With all these bitter pangs of grief 
Despair hath fallen on my queenly head, 
Oh, is there, sisters, no relief? 
Hath Tammuz from me ever, ever, gone? 
My heart is dead, and turned to stone; 
Ah, me, his queen! 


My sister spirits, O my brothers dear, 
My sorrow strikes me to the earth; 
Oh, let me die! I now no fate can fear, 
My heart is left a fearful dearth. 
Alas, from me all joy! all joy! hath gone; 
Oh, Ninazu, what hast thou done? 
Ah, me, his queen!” 


To Hades’ world beyond our sight they go, 
And leave upon the skies Mar-gid-da’s ? glow, 
That shines eternally along the sky, 

The road where souls redeemed shall ever fly. 
Prince Tammuz now again to life restored, 

Is crowned in Hades as its King and Lord,’ 


“* Mar-gid-da,” ‘“‘the Long Road.” titles given to. Tammuz in an Accadian 
We have also given the Accadian name 2 fe fopnd aS ae, Wa LA? vol. 
for “‘The Milky Way.” It was also 27, 2. See also translation in 


called by them the “ River of Night.” w Racerda of the Past,” vol. xi, p. 131. 
‘Lord of Hades” is one of the 


108 ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


And Ishtar’s sorrow thus appeased, she flies 
To earth, and fills with light and love the skies. 


TABLET VII—COLUMN I 


THe KiInc AND SEER CONVERSING ON THEIR Way To K#ASI- 
SADRA—INTERPRETATION OF THE Kincs DreEAw IN THE 
PALACE ON THE NIGHT OF THE FESTIVAL 


“The dream, my seer, which I beheld last night 
Within our tent, may bring to us delight. 

I saw a mountain summit flash with fire, 

That like a royal robe or god’s attire 

Illumined all its sides. The omen might 

Some joy us bring, for it was shining bright.” 
And thus the Sar revealed to him his dream. 


Heabani said, “ My friend, though it did seem 
Propitious, yet, deceptive was it all, 

And came in memory of Elam’s fall. 

The mountain burning was Khumbaba’s hails 
We fired, when all his soldiers from the walls 
Had fled ;—the mi-takh-garri,”—on that mom, 
Of such deceptive dreams, I would thee warn!” 
Some twenty kaspu they have passed this day, 

At thirty kaspu they dismount to pray 

And raise an altar, Samas to beseech 

That they their journey’s end may safely reach. 

The tent now raised, their evening meal prepare 
Beneath the forest in the open air; 

And Izdubar brought from the tent the dream 

He dreamed the festal night when Ishtar came 

To him ;—he reads it from a written scroll: 

“Upon my sight a vision thus did fall: 

I saw two men that night beside a god; 

One man a turban wore, and fearless trod. 

The god reached forth his hand and struck him down 
Like mountains hurled on fields of corn, thus prone 


2 “ Ni-takh-garri,” “the helpers,” or soldiers of Khumbabz 


INTERPRETATION OF THE KING’S DREAM 


He lay; and Izdubar then saw the god 

Was Anatu,? who struck him to the sod. 

The troubler of all men, Samu’s fierce queen, 

Thus struck the turbaned man upon the plain. 

He ceased his struggling, to his friend thus said: 

‘ My friend, thou askest not why I am laid 

Here naked, nor my low condition heed. 

Accurséd thus I lie upon the mead; 

The god has crushed me, burned my limbs with fire.’ 


The vision from mine eyes did then expire. 

A third dream came to me, which I yet fear, 
The first beyond my sight doth disappear. 

A fire-god thundering o’er the earth doth ride; 
The door of darkness burning flew aside; 
Like a fierce stream of lightning, blazing fire, 
Beside me roared the god with fury dire, 

And hurled wide death on earth on every side; 
And quickly from my sight it thus did glide, 
And in its track I saw a palm-tree green 
Upon a waste, naught else by me was seen.” 


Heabani pondering, thus explained the dream: 
“My friend, the god was Samas, who doth gleam 
With his bright glory, power, our God and Lord, 
Our great Creator King, whose thunders roared 
By thee, as through yon sky he takes his way; 
For his great favor we should ever pray. 

The man thou sawest lying on the plain 

Was thee, O King,—to fight such power is vain. 
Thus Anatu will strike thee with disease, 

Unless thou soon her anger shalt appease ; 

And if thou warrest with such foes divine, 

The fires of death shall o’er thy kingdom shine. 
The palm-tree green upon the desert left 

Doth show that we of hope are not bereft; 

The gods for us their snares have surely weft,® 
One shall be taken, and the other left.” 


2“ Anatu,” the consort of Anu. 3 ** Weft,”’ weaved. 


109 


Ilo ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


COLUMN II 


CONTEST WITH THE DRAGONS IN THE MOUNTAINS—TIHE SEER 
1s MorTALLY WouUNDED—HIs CALM VIEW OF THE HERE- 
AFTER 


1“C) Mam-mitu, thou god of fate and death! 
Thou spirit of fierce hate and parting breath, 
Thou banisher of joy! O ghastly Law, 

That gathers countless forces in thy maw! 

A phantom! curse! and oft a blessing, joy! 

All Heaven and earth thy hands shall e’er employ. 
With blessings come, or curses to us bring, 

The god who fails not with her hovering wing; 
Nor god, nor man thy coming e’er may ken, 

O mystery! thy ways none can explain.” 


If thou must come in earthquakes, fire, and flood, 
Or pestilence and eftsoons cry for blood, 

Thou comest oft with voice of sweetest love, 

Our dearest, fondest passions, hopes, to move; 
And men have worshipped thee in every form, 

In fear have praised thee, sought thy feet to charm. 
We reck not if you blessings, curses bring, 

For men oft change thy noiseless, ghoulish wing. 
And yet, thou comest, goddess Mam-mitu, 

To bring with thee the feet of Nin-a-zu, 

Two sister ghouls, remorseless, tearless, wan, 

We fear ye not; ye bw1-du,? begone! 


Sweet life renews itself in holy love, 

Your victory is naught! Ye vainly rove 
Across our pathway with yours forms inane, 
For somewhere, though we die, we live again. 
* The soul departed shall in glory shine, 

As burnished gold its form shall glow divine, 
And Samas there shall grant to us new life; 
And Merodac, the eldest son, all strife 


1 We have here quoted an Accadian 8 Accadian hymn on the future of the 
aa i ae maaets of fate. (“‘ Trans. just. (‘‘ Trans. Soc. of Bib. Arch.,”’ 
Soc, rch.,’”’ vol. ii. p. 39.) vol. ii. p. 32.) ~ 


Bue i- Ps ghosts. 


THE SEER IS MORTALLY WOUNDED Il! 


Shall end in peace in yonder Blest Abode, 
Where happiness doth crown our glorious God. 


* The sacred waters there shall ever flow, 

To Anat’s arms shall all the righteous go; 

The queen of Anu, Heaven’s king, our hands 
Outstretched will clasp, and through the glorious lands 
Will lead us to the place of sweet delights ; 

The land that glows on yonder blesséd heights 
Where milk and honey from bright fountains flow. 
And nectar to our lips, all sorrows, woe, 

Shall end in happiness beside the Stream 

Of Life, and Joy for us shall ever gleam; 

Our hearts with thankfulness shall sweetly sis 

And grander blissfulness each day will bring. 


And if we do not reach that spirit realm, 
Where bodyless each soul may ages whelm 
With joy unutterable; still we live, 
With bodies knew upon dear Earth, and give 
Our newer life to children with our blood. 
Or if these blessings we should miss; in wood, 
Or glen, or garden, field, or emerald seas, 
Our forms shall spring again; in such as these 
We see around us throbbing with sweet life, 
In trees or flowerets. 

This needs no belief 
On which to base the fabric of a dream, 
For Earth her children from death doth redeem, 
And each contributes to continuous bloom; 
So go your way! ye sisters, to your gloom! 


Far on their road have come the king of fame 
And seer, within the land of Mas * they came, 
Nor knew that Fate was hovering o’er their way, 
In gentle converse they have passed the day. 
Some twenty kaspu o’er the hills and plain, 
They a wild forest in the mountain gain, 
* Assyrian niga aris hymn (‘‘W 5 The land of Mas, Mr. Sayce sup- 


A. I.,” iv. 25, col. v.), translated in poses, was situated west of the Eu- 
“ Records of the Past,” vol. xi. pp. 161, phrates Valley. 


112 ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


In a deep gorge they rode through thickets wild, 
Beneath the pines ; now to a pass they filed, 

And lo! two dragons * near a cave contend 

Their path! with backs upreared their coils unbend, 
Extend their ravenous jaws with a loud roar 

That harshly comes from mouths of clotted gore. 


The sky o’erhead with lowering clouds is cast, 
Which Anu in his rage above them massed. 
Dark tempests fly above from Rimmon’s breath, 
Who hovers o’er them with the gods of death; 
The wicked seven winds howl wildly round, 
And crashing cedars falling shake the ground. 
Now Tsil-lattu her black wings spreads o’er all, 
Dark shrouding all the forest with her pall, 
And from his steed for safety each dismounts, 
And o’er their heads now bre2k the ebon founts. 
But hark! what is that dre. ''ul roaring noise? 
The dragons come! Their flaming crests they poise 
Avove, and nearer blaze their eyes of fire, 
And see! upon them rush the monsters dire. 


The largest springs upon the giant Sar, 

Who parrying with the sword he used in war, 
With many wounds it pierces, drives it back; 
Again it comes, renews its fierce attack, 

With fangs outspread its victims to devour, 

High o’er the monarch’s head its crest doth tower, 
Its fiery breath upon his helm doth glow. 


Exposed its breast! he strikes! his blade drives through 
Its vitals! Dying now it shakes the ground, 
And furious lashes all the forest round. ; 
But hark! what is that awful lingering shriek 
And cries of woe, that on his ears wild break? 
A blinding flash, see! all the land reveals, 
With dreadful roars, and darkness quick conceals 
The fearful sight, to ever after come 
6“ Dragons.” The word for this an- the Pig avid a cylinders now in the 


imal is “‘ tammabuk-ku.” It was prob- British Museum. 
ably one of the monsters portrayed on 


CALM VIEW OF THE HEREAFTER 113 


Before his eyes, wherever he may roam. 

The King, alas! too late Heabani drags 

From the beast’s fangs, that dies beneath the crags 
O’erhanging near the cave. And now a din 

Loud comes from dalkhi that around them spin 

In fierce delight, while hellish voices rise 

In harsh and awful mockery ; the cries 

Of agony return with taunting groans, 

And mock with their fell hate those piteous moans. 


Amazed stands Izdubar above his seer, 

Nor hears the screams, nor the fierce dalkhi’s jeer; 
Beneath the flashing lightnings he soon found 

The cave, and lays the seer upon the ground. 

His breaking heart now cries in agony, 

“ Heabani! O my seer, thou must not die! 

Alas! dread Mam-mitu hath led us here, 

Awake for me! arouse! my noble seer! 

I would to gods of Erech I had died 

For thee! my seer! my strength! my kingdom’s pride!” 


The seer at last revives and turns his face 
With love that death touched not, his hand doth place 
With friendly clasp in that of his dear king, 
And says: 

“Grieve not, beloved friend, this thing 
Called death at last must come, why should we fear? 
*Tis Hades’ mist that opens for thy seer! 


The gods us brought, nor asked consent, and life 
They give and take away from all this strife 
That must be here, my life I end on earth; 
Both joy and sorrow I have seen from birth; 
To Hades’ awful land, whence none return, 
Heabani’s face in sorrow now must turn. 
My love for thee, mine only pang reveals, 
For this alone I grieve.” 

A teardrop steals 
Across his features, shining ‘neath the light 
The King has lit to make the cavern bright. 

8 


114 ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


“ But oh, friend Izdubar, my King, when I 
From this dear earth to waiting Hades fly, 
Grieve not; and when to Erech you return, 
Thou shalt in glory reign, and Zaidu learn 

As thy companion all that thine own heart 
Desires, thy throne thou wilt to him impart. 
The female, Samkha, whom he brought to me 
Is false, in league with thine own enemy. 

And she will cause thee mischief, seek to drive 
Thee from thy throne; but do not let her live 
Within the walls of Erech, for the gods 

Have not been worshipped in their high abodes. 
When thou returnest, to the temple go, 

And pray the gods to turn from thee the blow 
Of Anu’s fury, the strong god, who reigns 
Above, and sent these woes upon the plains. 
His anger raised against thee, even thee, 
Must be allayed, or thy goods thou shalt see, 
And kingdom, all destroyed by his dread’ power. 
But Khasisadra will to thee give more 

Advice when thou shalt meet the ancient seer, 
For from thy side must I soon disappear.” 

The seer now ceased, and on his couch asleep 
Spoke not, and Izdubar alone doth weep. 


And thus twelve days were past, and now the seer 
Of the great change he saw was drawing near 
Informed his King, who read to him the prayers, 
And for the end each friendly act prepares, 

Then said: “O my Heabani, dearest friend, 

I would that I thy body could defend 

From thy fierce foe that brings the end to thee. 
My friend in battle I may never see 

Again, when thou didst nobly stand beside 

Me; with my seer and friend I then defied 

All foes ; and must thou leave thy friend, my seer?” 
“Alas! my King, I soon shall leave thee here.” 


HEABANI REVEALS VISIONS TO THE KING 115 


COLUMN III 


HEABANI REVEALS Two WONDERFUL VISIONS TO THE KING, 
ONE OF DEATH AND OBLIVION, AND THE OTHER OF 
HEAVEN, AND DIES IN THE ARMS OF THE KING 


“ But, oh, my King! to thee I now reveal 
A secret that my heart would yet conceal, 
To thee, my friend, two visions I reveal: 
The first I oft have dreamed beneath some spell 
Of night, when I enwrapped from all the world, 
With Self alone communed. 

Unconscious hurled 
By winged thought beyond this present life, 
I seeming woke in a Dark World where rife 
Was Nothingness,—a darksome mist it seemed, 
All eke was naught ;—no light for me there gleamed; 
And floating ‘lone, which way I turned, saw naught; 
Nor felt of substance ‘neath my feet, nor fraught 
With light was Space around; nor cheerful ray 
Of single star. The sun was quenched; or day 
Or night, knew not. No hands had I, nor feet, 
Nor head, nor body, all was void. No heat 
Or cold I felt, no form could feel or see; 
And naught I knew but conscious entity. 
No boundary my being felt, or had; 
And speechless, deaf, and blind, and formless, sad, 
I floated through dark space,—a conscious blank! 
No breath of air my spirit moved; I sank 
I knew not where, till motionless I ceased 
At last to move, and yet I could not rest, 
Around me spread the Limitless, and Vast. 
My cheerless, conscious spirit,—fixed and fast 
In some lone spot in space was moveless, stark! 
An atom chained by forces stern and dark, 
With naught around me. Comfortless I lived 
In my dread loneliness! Oh, how I grieved! 
And thus, man’s fate in Life and Death is solved 
With naught but consciousness, and thus involved 


116 ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


All men in hopes that no fruition have? 

And this alone was all that death me gave? 
That all had vanished, gone from me that life 
Could give, and left me but a blank, with strife 
Of rising thoughts, and vain regrets, to float ;— 
Away from life and light, be chained remote! 


Oh, how my spirit longed for some lone crag 
To part the gloom beneath, and rudely drag 
My senses back! or with its shock to end 
My dire existence ;—to oblivion send 
Me quickly! How I strove to curse, and break 
That soundless Void, with shrieks or cries, to wake 
That awful silence which around me spread! 
In vain! in vain! all but my soul was dead. 
And then my spirit soundless cried within: 
“ Oh, take me! take me back to Earth again!” 
For tortures of the flesh were bliss and joy 
To such existence! Pain can never cloy 
The smallest thrill of earthly happiness! 
’Twas joy to live on earth in pain! I'll bless 
Thee, gods, if I may see its fields I’ve trod 
To kiss its fragrant flowers, and clasp the sod 
Of mother Earth, that grand and beauteous world! 
From all its happiness, alas! was hurled 
My spirit,—then in frenzy—I awoke! 
Great Bel! a dream it was! as vanished smoke 
It sped! and I sprang from my couch and prayed 
To all the gods, and thus my soul allayed. 
And then with blessings on my lips, I sought 
My couch, and dropped away in blissful thought 
In dream the second: 

Then the Silver Sky 
Came tome. Near the Stream of Life I lie: 
My couch the rarest flowers; and music thrills 
My soul! How soft and sweet it sounds from rills 
And streams, and feathered songsters in the trees 
Of Heaven’s fruits !—e’en all that here doth please 
The heart of man was there. Ina dear spot 
I lay, ’mid olives, spices, where was wrought 


OF HEAVEN 


A beauteous grotto; and beside me near, 
Were friends I loved ; and one both near and dear 
With me reclined, in blissful converse, sweet 
With tender thoughts. 

Our joy was full, complete! 
The ministering spirits there had spread 
Before us all a banquet on the mead, 
With Heaven’s food and nectar for our feast; 
And oh, so happy! How our joy increased 
As moments flew, to years without an end! 
To Courts Refulgent there we oft did wend. 


Beside a silver lake, a holy fane 

There stood within the centre of the plain, 
High built on terraces, with walls of gold, 
Where palaces and mansions there enfold 

A temple of the gods, that stands within 

’*Mid feathery palms and gesdin,! bowers green, 
The city rises to a dizzy height, 

With jewelled turrets flashing in the light, 
Grand mansions piled on mansions rising high 
Until the glowing summits reach the sky. 

A cloud of myriad wings, e’er fills the sky, 

As doves around their nests on earth here fly; 
The countless millions of the souls on earth, 
The gods have brought to light from mortal birth, 
Are carried there from the dark world of doom; 
For countless numbers more there still is room. 
Through trailing vines my Love and I oft wind, 
With arms of love around each other twined. 
This day, we passed along the Stream of Life, 
Through blooming gardens, with sweet odors rife; 
Beneath the ever-ripening fruits we walk, 

Along dear paths, and sweetly sing, or talk, 
While warbling birds around us fly in view, 
From bloom to bloom with wings of every hue; 
And large-eyed deer, no longer wild, us pass, 
With young gazelles, and kiss each other’s face. 


We now have reached the stately stairs of gold, 
The city of the gods, here built of old. 


1“ Gesdin,” the Tree of Life and Immortality. 


118 ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


The pearléd pillars rise inlaid divine, 

With lotus delicately traced with vine 

In gold and diamonds, pearls, and unknown gems, 
That wind to capital with blooming stems 

Of lilies, honeysuckles, and the rose. 

An avenue of columns in long rows 

Of varied splendor, leads to shining courts 
Where skilful spirit hands with perfect arts 

Have chiselled glorious forms magnificent, 
With ornate skill and sweet embellishment. 
Their golden sculpture view on every hand, 

Or carved images in pearl that stand 

In clusters on the floor, or in long rows; 

And on the walls of purest pearl there glows 

The painting of each act of kindest deed 

Each soul performs on earth ;—is there portrayed. 


The scenes of tenderness and holy love, 
There stand and never end, but onward move, 
And fill the galleries of Heaven with joy, 

And ever spirit artist hands employ. 

The holiest deeds are carved in purest gold, 
Or richest gems, and there are stored of old; 
Within the inner court a fountain stood, 

Of purest diamond moulded, whence there flowed 
Into a golden chalice,—trickling cool, 

The nectar of the gods,—a sparkling pool, 
That murmuring sank beneath an emerald vase 
That rested underneath ;—the fountain’s base. 


We entered then an arcade arching long 

Through saph’rine galleries, and heard the song 

That swelling came from temples hyaline; 

And passed through lazite courts and halls divine, 
While dazzling glories brighter round us shone. 

How sweet then came the strains! with grander tone! 
And, oh, my King! I reached the gates of pearl 

That stood ajar, and heard the joyous whirl 

That thrilled the sounding domes and lofty halls, 

And echoed from the shining jasper walls. 


DEATH OF THE SEER 


I stood within the gate, and, oh, my friend, 
Before that holy sight I prone did bend, 

And hid my face upon the jacinth stairs. 

A shining god raised me, and bade my fears 

Be flown, and I beheld the glorious throne 

Of crystaled light; with rays by man unknown, 
The awful god there sat with brows sublime, 
With robes of woven gold, and diadem 

That beamed with blazing splendor o’er his head. 
I thus beheld the god with presence dread, 
The King of Kings, the Ancient of the Days, 
While music rose around with joyous praise. 
With awful thunders how they all rejoice! 

And sing aloud with one commingled voice! 


What happiness it was to me, my King! 
From bower to temple I went oft to sing, 
Or spread my wings above the mount divine, 
And viewed the fields from heights cerulean. 
Those songs still linger on dear memory’s ear, 
And tireless rest upon me, ever cheer. 

But from the Happy Fields, alas! I woke, 
And from my sight the Heavenly vision broke; 
But, oh, my King, it all was but a dream! 

I hope the truth is such, as it did seem; 

If it is true that such a Heavenly Land 
Exists with happiness so glorious, grand, 
Within that haven I would happy be! 

But it, alas! is now denied to me. 

For, oh, my King, to Hades I must go, 

My wings unfold to fly to Realms of Woe; 
In darkness to that other world unknown, 
Alas! from joyous earth my life has flown. 


Farewell, my King, my love thou knowest well; 
I go the road; in Hades soon shall dwell; 

To dwelling of the god Irkalla fierce, 

To walls where light for me can never pierce, 
The road from which no soul may e’er return, 
Where dust shall wrap me round, my body urn, 


119g 


120 ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


Where sateless ravens float upon the air, 

Where light is never seen, or enters there, 

Where I in darkness shall be crowned with gloom; 
With crownéd heads of earth who there shall come 
To reign with Anu’s favor or great Bel’s, 

Then sceptreless are chained in their dark cells 
With naught to drink but Hades’ waters there, 
And dream of all the past with blank despair. 
Within that world, I too shall ceaseless moan, 
Where dwell the lord and the unconquered one, 
And seers and great men dwell within that deep, 
With dragons of those realms we all shall sleep; 
Where King Etana* and god Ner doth reign 
With Allat, the dark Under-World’s great queen, 
Who reigns o’er all within her regions lone, 

The Mistress of the Fields, her mother, prone 
Before her falls, and none her face withstands ; 
But I will her approach, and take her hands, 
And she will comfort me in my dread woe. 

Alas! through yonder void I now must go! 

My hands I spread! as birds with wings I fly! 
Descend! descend! beneath that awful sky!” 

The seer falls in the arms of Izdubar, 

And he is gone ;—’tis clay remaineth here. 


COLUMN IV 


THE GRIEF OF THE KING OVER THE Loss oF His SEER, AND 
His PRAYER TO THE Moon-Gop, WxHo ANSwers HIs 
PRAYER WITH A VISION 


The King weeps bitterly with flowing tears 
Above his seer when from him disappears 
The last faint breath ; and then in deepest woe 
He cries: “ And through that desert must I go? 
Heabani, thou to me wast like the gods; 

Oh, how I loved thee! must thou turn to clods? 
Through that dread desert must I ride alone; 


1“ Etana,” Lord or King of Hades. of Legends as having reigned before 
He is mentioned in the Creation series the flood. 


PRAYER TO THE MOON-GOD 121 


And leave thee here, Heabani, lying prone? 
Alas, I leave thee in this awful place, 

To find our Khasisadra, seek his face, 

The son of Ubara-tutu, the seer; 

Oh, how can I, my friend, thus leave thee here? 
This night through those dark mountains I must go, 
I can no longer bear this awful woe: 

If I shall tarry here, I cannot sleep. 

O Sin, bright moon-god, of yon awful deep! 

I pray to thee upon my face, oh, hear 

My prayer! my supplications bring thou near 
To all the gods! grant thou to me,—e’en me, 

A heart of strength and will to worship thee. 


Oh, is this death like that the seer hath dreamed? 
Perhaps the truth then on his spirit gleamed! 
If Land of Silver Sky is but a myth, 
The other dream is true! e’en all he saith! 
Oh, tell me, all ye sparkling stars, 
That wing above thy glorious flight, 
And feel not Nature’s jars; 
But grandly, sweetly fling thy light 
To our bright world beneath serene, 
Hath mortals on thee known 
Or viewed beyond,—that great Unseen, 
Their future fate by gods been shown? 


Oh, hear me, all ye gods on high! 

To gods who love mankind I pray, 
Despairing, oh, I cry! 

Oh, drive these doubts and fears away! 

And yet—and yet, what truths have we? 

O wondrous mortal, must thou die? 

Beyond this end thou canst not see, 

O Life! O Death! O mystery! 


The body still is here, with feeling dead! 

And sight is gone !—and hearing from his head, 
Nor taste, nor smell, nor warmth, nor breath of life! 
Where is my seer? Perhaps, his spirit rife 


122 ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


E’en now in nothingness doth wander lone! 

In agony his thoughts! with spirit prone! 

In dread despair !—If conscious then, O gods! 

He spake the truth !—His body to the clods 

Hath turned! By this we feel, or hear, or see, 
And when ’tis gone,—exist P—in agony! 

To Hades hath he gone? as he hath thought! 
Alas, the thought is torture, where have wrought 
The gods their fearful curse! Ah, let me think! 
The Silver Sky? Alas, its shining brink 

He hath not crossed. The wrathful gods deny 
Him entrance! Where, oh, where do spirits fly 
Whom gods have cursed? Alas, he is condemned 
To wander lone in that dark world, contemned 
And from the Light of Happy Fields is barred! 
Oh, why do gods thus send a fate so hard, 

And cruel? O dear moon-god, moon-god Sin! 
My seer hath erred. Receive his soul within 

To joys prepared for gods and men! ‘Though seer 
He was, he immortality did fear, 

As some unknown awakening in space. 

Oh, turn upon him thy bright blessed face! 

He was my friend! O moon-god, hear my prayer! 
Imploring thee, doth pray thine Izdubar!” 


And lo! a vision breaks before his eyes! 

The moon-god hides the shadows of the skies, 

And sweeps above with his soft, soothing light 

That streams around his face; he drives the night 
Before his rays, and with his hands sweet peace 

He spreads through all the skies; and Strife doth cease! 
A girdle spans the Heavens with pure light 

That shines around the River of the Night, 

Within the circling rays a host appears! 

The singers of the skies, as blazing spheres! 

Hark! Hear their harps and lyres that sweetly sound! 
They sing! Oh, how.the glowing skies resound! 


“O King of Light and Joy and Peace, 
Supreme thy love shall ever reign; 


which appears on a fragment of the (vi. 12, §§ 
epic translated by Mr. 


THE KING BURIES HIS SEER IN THE CAVE 123 


Oh, can our songs of bliss here cease? 
Our souls for joy cannot restrain, 
Sweep! Sweep thy lyres again! 


The former things * are passed away, 
Which we on earth once knew below ; 
And in this bright eternal day 
We happiness alone can know 
Where bliss doth ever flow.” 


COLUMN V 


THE KinG Buries His SEER IN THE CAVE, AND CONTINUING 
His Journey, He Meets Two Fiery Giants WuHo 
GUIDE THE SUN IN THE HEAVENS—THEY MAKE MERRY 
OVER THE KING, AND DirEcT Him on His Way 


The King within the cave his seer entombs, 
And mourning sadly from the cavern comes; 
The entrance closes with the rocks around, 
Again upon his journey he is bound. 

But soon within the mountains he is lost 
Within the darkness,—as some vessel tost 
Upon the trackless waves of unknown seas, 
But further from the awful cavern flees. 

The morning breaks o’er crags and lonely glens, 
And he dismayed, the awful wild now scans. 
He reins his steed and wondering looks around, 
And sees of every side a mystic ground. 

Before him stands the peak of Mount Masu,? 
The cliffs and crags forlorn his eyes swift view, 
And cedars, pines, among the rocks amassed, 
That weirdly rise within the mountain fast. 
Hark! hear that dreadful roaring all around! 
What nameless horror thrills the shaking ground? 


1ZLiterally, ‘“‘the former names,” Masius, or “‘ Mons Masius’’ of Strabo 


4, 14, 2, etc.), may be re- 
ferred to by the author of the epic. 
hese mountains are now known to 


Sayce. See 
mith’s *‘ C. A. of Gen.,” p. 259, which 


he has rendered *‘ the former name, the 
new name.” ; 
1** Mount Masu,’’ the Mountains of 


the Turks as Jebel Tur and Karaiah 
Dag.—Rawlinson’s ‘Ancient Mon- 
archies,” vol. ii. pp. 9 and 2s. 


124 ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


The King in terror stares! and see! his steed 
Springs back! wild snorting,—trembling in his dread. 
Behold! behold those forms there blazing bright! 
Fierce flying by the earth with lurid light; 

Two awful spirits, demons, or fierce gods, 

With roaring thunders spring from their abodes! 
From depths beneath the earth the monsters fly, 
And upward lift their awful bodies high, 

Yet higher !—higher! till their crests are crowned 
By Heaven’s gates; thus reaching from the ground 
To heights empyrean, while downward falls 

Each form, extending far ’neath Hades’ walls. 

And see! each god as molten metal gleams, 

While sulphurous flame from hell each monster climbs! 
Two fiery horrors reaching to the skies, 

While wrathful lightning from each monster flies! 


Hell’s gate they guard with Death’s remorseless face, 
And hurl the sun around the realms of space 

E’en swifter than the lightning, while it goes 
Along its orbit, guided by their blows. 

Dire tempests rise above from their dread blows, 
And ever round a starry whirlwind glows; 

The countless stars thus driven whirl around, 
With all the circling planets circling round. 


The King astounded lifts his staring eyes, 

Into his face gray fear, with terror flies ; 

As they approach, his thoughts the King collects, 
Thus over him one of the gods reflects. 

“Who cometh yonder with the form of gods?” 
The second says: ‘‘ He comes from man’s abodes, 
But with a mortal’s feebleness he walks; 

Behold upon the ground alone he stalks.” 


One lifts his mighty arm across the sky, 
And strikes the sun as it goes roaring by; 
The fiery world with whiter heat now glows, 
While a vast flood of flame behind it flows, 
That curling, forms bright comets, meteors, 


TWO FIERY GIANTS MAKE MERRY 


And planets multiplies, and blazing stars ; 

The robe of flames spreads vast across the sky, 
Adorned with starry gems that sparkling fly 
Upon the ambient ether forming suns 

That through new orbits sing their orisons ; 
Their pealing thunders rend the trembling sky, 
The endless anthem of eternity. 


The monster turning to the King then says, 

When nearer now his awful form doth blaze: 

“So thus you see, my son, the gods are strong, 

And to provoke great power, is foolish, wrong; 

But whither goest thou, thou sad-eyed King, 

What message hast thou ;—to us here would bring?” 


The King now prostrate to the monsters prayed: 
“Ye gods or demons, I within your glade 

Of horrors, have unwilling come to seek 

Our Khasisadra, who a spell can make 

To turn the anger of the gods away. 

Immortal lives the seer beside the sea, 

He knoweth death and life, all secret things ; 
And this alone your servant to you brings. 
The goddess sought my hand, which I denied, 
And Anu’s fury thus I have defied ; 

This all my troubles caused, show me the way 
To Khasisadra, this I ask and pray.” 


The god’s vast face broke out with wondrous smiles, 
And laughing, ripples rolled along for miles; 
His mouth wide opened its abyss and yawned, 


As earthquake gulf, far spreading through the ground. 


His roaring laughter shakes the earth around, 
“ Ho! ho! my son! so you at last have found 
The Queen can hate, as well as love her friends, 
And on thy journey Ishtar’s love thee sends? 
A mortal wise thou wast, to her refuse, 

For she can do with man what she may choose. 
A mortal’s love, in truth, is wondrous strong, 
A glorious thing it is, Life’s ceaseless song! 


125 


126 


ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


Within a cave upon the mountain side, 

Thou there thy footsteps must to Hades guide, 
Twelve kaspu go to yonder mountain gates, 

A heart like thine may well defy the fates. 

A darkness deep profound doth ever spread 
Within those regions black,—Home of the Dead. 
Go, Izdubar! within this land of Mas, 

Thy road doth lead, and to the west ? doth pass, 
And may the maidens sitting by the walls 
Refresh thee, lead thee to the Happy Halls.” 


The path they take behind the rising sun 

The setting sun they pass,—with wings have flown 
The scorpion men,’ within wide space have gone, 

Thus from his sight the monsters far have flown. 


COLUMN VI 


IzDUBAR ENTERS HApDES—THE SONG OF THE DALKHI IN THE 
CAVERN OF Horrors—THE KincG Passes THROUGH 
HADES TO THE GARDEN OF THE GODS, AND SEES THE 
WONDERFUL FOUNTAIN OF LIFE’S WATERS 


In a weird passage to the Under-World, 

Where demon shades sit with their pinions furled 
Along the cavern’s walls with poisonous breath, 

In rows here mark the labyrinths of Death. 

The King with torch upraised, the pathway Bae, 
Along the way of mortal souls he winds, 

Where shades sepulchral, soundless rise amid 

Dark gulfs that yawn, and in the blackness hide 
Their depths beneath the waves of gloomy lakes 
And streams that sleep beneath the sulphurous flakes 
That drift o’er waters bottomless, and chasms; 
Where moveless sat receive Life’s dying spasms. 


Mr. Sayce translates thus: ‘the 
path of the sun.’ 

* He also names the monsters “ the 
scorpion men,” and refers to an As- 
syrian cylinder on which two composite 
winged monsters are carved, wit the 
winged emblem of the supreme god in 


the centre above them. The monsters 
have the feet of lions and the tails of 
scorpions. See illustration in Smith’s 
revised edition, by Sayce, ‘‘ Chald. Acc. 
of Gen.,” p. 276. The monsters were 
supposed to fly ahead of the sun, and 
as it passed guide it along its orbit. 


IZDUBAR ENTERS HADES 127 


Here Silence sits supreme on a drear throne 
Of ebon hue, and joyless reigns alone 

O’er a wide waste of blackness,—solitude 
Black, at her feet, there sleeps the awful flood 
Of mystery which grasps all mortal souls, 
Where grisly horrors sit with crests of ghouls, 
And hateless welcome with their eyes of fire 
Each soul ;—remorseless lead to terrors dire; 
And ever, ever crown the god of Fate; 

And there, upon her ebon throne she sate 
The awful fiend, dark goddess Mam-mitu, 
Who reigns through all these realms of La-Atzu.1 


But hark! what are these sounds within the gloom? 
And see! long lines of torches nearer come! 

And now within a recess they have gone; 

The King must pass their door! perhaps some one 
Of them may see him! turn the hags of gloom 
Upon him, as he goes by yonder room! 

He nearer comes, and peers within; and see! 

A greenish glare fills all the cave! and he 

Beholds a blaze beneath a cauldron there; 

Coiled, yonder lie the Dragons of Despair ; 

And lo! from every recess springs a form 

Of shapeless horror! now with dread alarm 

He sees the flitting forms wild whirling there, 

And awful wailings come of wild despair: 

But hark! the dal-khis’ song rings on the air! 
With groans and cries they shriek their mad despair. 


Oh, fling on earth, ye demons dark, 
Your madness, hate, and fell despair, 

And fling your darts at each we mark, 
That we may welcome victims here. 


Then sing your song of hate, ye fiends, 
And hurl your pestilential breath, 
Till every soul before us bends, 
And worship here the god of Death. 


1** La-Atzu,” Hades, hell, the spirit-world. 


128 


ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


In error still for e’er and aye, 

They see not, hear not many things; 
The unseen forces do not weigh, 

And each an unknown mystery brings. 


In error still for e’er and aye, 

They delve for phantom shapes that ride 
Across their minds alone,—and they 

But mock the folly of man’s pride. 


In error still for e’er and aye! 
They learn but little all their lives, 
And Wisdom ever wings her way, 
Evading ever,—while man strives! 


But hark! another song rings through the gloom, 
And, oh, how sweet the music far doth come! 
Oh, hear it, all ye souls in your despair, 
For joy it brings to sorrowing ones e’en here! 


“There is a Deep Unknown beyond, 
That all things hidden well doth weigh! 
On man’s blind vision rests the bond 
Of error still for e’er and aye! 


But to the mighty gods, oh, turn 
For truth to lead you on your way, 
And wisdom from their tablets learn, 
And ever hope for e’er and aye!” 


And see! the hags disperse within the gloom, 

As those sweet sounds resound within the room; 
And now a glorious light doth shine around, 
Their rays of peace glide o’er the gloomy ground. 
And lo! ’tis Papsukul, our god of Hope,— 

With cheerful face comes down the fearful slope 
Of rugged crags, and blithely strides to where 
Our hero stands, amid the poisonous air, 

And says: 


“ Behold, my King, that glorious Light 


That shines beyond! and eye no more this sight 


THE KING PASSES THROUGH HADES 


Of dreariness, that only brings despair, 
For phantasy of madness reigneth here! ” 
The King in wonder carefully now eyes 
The messenger divine with great surprise, 
And says: 

“ But why, thou god of Hope, do I 
Thus find thee in these realms of agony? 
This World around me banishes thy feet 
From paths that welcome here the god of Fate 
And blank despair, and loss irreparable. 
Why comest thou to woe immeasurable? ” 


“You err, my King, for hope oft rules despair; 

I ofttimes come to reign with darkness here; 
When I am gone, the god of Fate doth reign; 
When I return, I soothe these souls again.” 

“So thus you visit all these realms of woe, 

To torture them with hopes they ne’er can know? 
Avaunt! If this thy mission is on Earth 

Or Hell, thou leavest after thee but dearth!” 
“Not so, my King! behold yon glorious sphere, 
Where gods at last take all these souls from here! 
Adieu! thou soon shalt see the World of Light, 
Where joy alone these souls will e’er delight.” 


The god now vanishes away from sight, 

The hero turns his face toward the light; 

Nine kaspu walks, till weird the rays now gleam, 
As szi-mu-ri behind the shadows stream. 

He sees beyond, umbrageous grots and caves, 


Where odorous plants entwine their glistening leaves. 


And lo! the trees bright flashing gems here bear! 
And trailing vines and flowers do now appear, 
That spread before his eyes a welcome sight, 
Like a sweet dream of some mild summer night. 
But, oh! his path leads o’er that awful stream, 
Across a dizzy arch ’mid sulphurous steam 
That covers all the grimy bridge with slime. 
He stands perplexed beside the waters grime, 
Which sluggish move adown the limbo black, 
With murky waves that writhe demoniac,— 

9 


130 ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


As ebon serpents curling through the gloom 
And hurl their inky crests, that silent come 
Toward the yawning gulf, a tide of hate; 

And sweep their dingy waters to Realms of Fate. 


He cautious climbs the slippery walls of gloom, 
And dares not look beneath, lest Fate should come; 
He enters now the stifling clouds that creep 

Around the causeway, while its shadows sleep 

Upon the stream that sullen moves below,— 


He slips!—and drops his torch! it far doth glow 
Beneath him on the rocks! Alas, in vain 

He seeks a path to bring it back again. 

It moves! snatched by a dal-khu’s hand it flies 
Away within the gloom, then falling dies 
Within those waters black with a loud hiss 

That breaks the silence of that dread abyss. 


He turns again, amid the darkness gropes, 

And careful climbs the cragged, slimy slopes, 

And now he sees, oh, joy! the light beyond! 

He springs! he flies along the glowing ground, 
And joyous dashes through the waving green 
That lustrous meets his sight with rays serene, 
Where trees pure amber from their trunks distil, 
Where sweet perfumes the groves and arbors fill, 
Where zephyrs murmur odors from the trees, 
And sweep across the flowers, carrying bees 

With honey laden for their nectar store; 

Where humming sun-birds upward flitting soar 
O’er groves that bear rich jewels as their fruit, 
That sparkling tingle from each youngling shoot, 
And fill the garden with a glorious blaze 

Of chastened light and tender thrilling rays. 

He glides through that enchanted mystic world, 
O’er streams with beds of gold that sweetly twirled 
With woven splendor ’neath the blaze of gems 
That crown each tree with glistening diadems. 
The sounds of streams are weft with breezes, chant 
Their arias with trembling leaves,—the haunt 


THE GARDENS OF THE GODS 


Of gods! O how the tinkling chorus rings !— 
With rhythms of the unseen rustling wings 
Of souls that hover here where joy redeems 
Them with a happiness that ever gleams. 


The hero stands upon a damasked bed 

Of flowers that glow beneath his welcome tread, 
And softly sink with ‘luring odors round, 
And beckon him to them upon the ground. 
Amid rare pinks and violets he lies, 

And one sweet pink low bending near, he eyes. 
With tender petals thrilling on its stem, 

It lifts its fragrant face and says to him, 

“ Dear King, wilt thou love me as I do thee? 
We love mankind, and when a mortal see 

We give our fragrance to them with our love, 
Their love for us our inmost heart doth move.” 
The King leans down his head, it kissing, says, 


“ Sweet beauty, I love thee? with thy sweet face? 


My heart is filled with love for all thy kind. 

I would that every heart thy love should find. 
The fragrant floweret thrills with tenderness, 
With richer fragrance answers his caress. 

He kisses it again and lifts his eyes, 

And rises from the ground with glad surprise. 


And see! the glorious spirits clustering round! 
They welcome him with sweet melodious sound. 
We hear their golden instruments of praise, 

As they around him whirl a threading maze; 
In great delight he views their beckoning arms, 
And lustrous eyes, and perfect, moving forms. 
And see! he seizes one bright, charming girl, 
As the enchanting ring doth nearer whirl; 

He grasps her in his arms, and she doth yield 
The treasure of her lips, where sweets distilled 
Give him a joy without a taint of guilt. 

It thrills his heart-strings till his soul doth melt, 
A kiss of chastity, and love, and fire, 

A joy that few can dare to here aspire. 


131 


132 ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


The beauteous spirit has her joy, and flees 
With all her sister spirits ‘neath the trees. 
And lo! the gesdin? shining stands, 

With crystal branches in the golden sands, 

In this immortal garden stands the tree, 

With trunk of gold, and beautiful to see. 
Beside a sacred fount the tree is placed, 
With emeralds and unknown gems is graced, 
Thus stands, the prince of emeralds,” Elam’s tree, 
As once it stood, gave Immortality 

To man, and bearing fruit, there sacred grew, 
Till Heaven claimed again Fair Eridu.® 


The hero now the wondrous fountain eyes; 

Its beryl base to ruby stem doth rise, 

To emerald and sapphire bands that glow, 

Where the bright curvings graceful outward flow; 
Around the fountain to its widest part, 

The wondrous lazite bands now curling start 
And mingle with bright amethyst that glows, 

To a broad diamond band,—contracting grows 
To wk-ni stone, turquoise, and clustering pearls, 
Inlaid with gold in many curious curls 

Of twining vines and tendrils bearing birds, 
Among the leaves and blooming flowers, that words 
May not reveal, such loveliness in art, 

With fancies spirit hands can only start 

From plastic elements before the eye, 

And mingle there the charms of empery. 

Benerth two diamond doves that shining glow 
Upon the summit, the bright waters flow, 

With aromatic splendors to the skies, 

While glistening colors of the rainbow rise. 


Here ends the tablet,* “ When the hero viewed 
The fountain which within the garden stood.” 


1“ Gesdin,” the Tree of Life and Im- «“* Tablet of the series; when the 

&: hero Izdubar saw the _ fountain.”— 
2 See tei s ihraeg Smith’s “ Chald. Ree s Hel Smith’s “‘ Chald. Acc. 
of Gen.,” p. 264, 1. 14. 


THE KING’S ADVENTURE 


TABLET VIII—COLUMN I 


133 


THe Kinc’s ADVENTURE AT THE GATE OF THE GARDEN OF 
THE GODS WITH THE Two MaipENS—ONE OF THEM 
Leaps Him INTO THE Happy HALLS—SoNGS OF THE 


SABITU AND ZI-SI. 


A gate half opened shows the silvery sea 

Yet distant shining lambent on his way. 

And now he sees young Siduri,1 whose breast 
Infuses life; all nature she hath blest, 

Whose lips are flames, her arms are walls of fire, 
Whose love yields pleasures that can never tire, 
She to the souls who joy on earth here miss, 
Grants them above a holier, purer bliss. 

The maiden sits within a holy shrine 

Beside the gate with lustrous eyes divine, 
And beckons to the King, who nearer comes, 
And near her glows the Happy Palace domes. 


And lo! ’tis she his lips have fondly kissed 
Within the garden, when like fleeing mist 

She disappeared with the bright spirit Seven,? 
The Sabit, who oft glide from earth to Heaven. 
And lo! one of the Seven, Sabitu, 

Emerging from the gate doth jealous view 
The coming hero who hath kissed her mate, 
She angry springs within to close the gate, 
And bars it, enters then the inner halls, 

And Izdubar to her now loudly calls, 

“ O Sabitu! what see-est thou, my maid? 


Of Izdubar is Sabitu afraid? 


Thy gate thou barrest thus before my face. 


Quick, open for me! or I’ll force the brass! 


1? 


The maid now frightened opens wide the door. 


1 “* Siduri,” the ‘‘ pourer ”’ ** shed- 
der forth,” the “ Pall. bountiful, ” the 
goddess who brings the rain, and 
mists, and running streams to fill the 
vegetable world with its productions; 


the goddess who presides over produc- 
tive nature. She was also called ‘‘ the 


Goddess of Wisdom.” 
2Seven spirits of the earth 
heaven, the daughters of Hea. 


and 


134 ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


The Sar and Siduri now tread the floor 

Of the bright palace where sweet joy doth reign. 
Through crystal halls ‘neath golden roofs the twain 
Next go within a lofty ceilinged hall, 

With shining pearléd columns, golden wall, 

And purple silken hangings at each door, 

With precious gems inlaid upon the floor ; 

Where couches grand are spread for one to rest 
Beneath the softened rays that sweet invest 

The senses with a thrill of happiness ; 

Where Siduri with joy all souls doth bless. 

The maid sits on a couch and turns her face 

Toward the King with that immortal grace 

That love to gods and men will e’er bestow. 

Their eyes now mingling with a happy glow, 

The maiden sweetly says: “ Where wouldst thou go? 
Within these Happy Halls we joy but know, 

And if thou wilt, my King, my heart is thine! 

Our love will ever bring us bliss divine.” 


* Alas, my maid, thy love to me is dear, 

And sad am I that I must go from here. 

I came from Erech by advice from one 

I loved more than thou canst e’er know, but gone 
From me is my Heabani, faithful seer. 

Across a desert waste have I come here, 

And he has there to dust returned,—to dust— 
O how the love of my friend I did trust ! 

I would that we had never started here, 

I now must find the great immortal seer.” 


The maiden turns her glowing eyes on him, 
Replies: ““ My King, thou knowest joy may gleam, 
Take courage, weary heart, and sing a song! 

The hour of sorrow can never be long; 

The day will break, and flood thy soul with joy, 
And happiness thy heart will then employ! 

Each day must end with all its sorrow, woe, 

Oh, sing with me, dear heart! I love thee so! ” 
And lo! the curtains flung aside, now comes 


SONGS OF THE SABITU AND ZI-SI 


The joyous Sabitu from yonder rooms, 

And gathering round, a song they gayly sing, 
Oh, how with music the bright walls now ring! 
If evil thou hast done, my King, 


Oh, pray! oh, pray! 

And to the gods thy offerings bring, 
And pray! and pray! 

The sea is roaring at thy feet, 

The storms are coming, rain and sleet; 
To all the gods, 

Oh, pray to them! oh, pray! 


Chorus 


To all the gods, 
Oh, pray to them! oh, pray! 


Thy city we will bless, O Sar! 
With joy, with joy! 

And prosper thee in peace and war 
With joy, with joy! 

And bless thee every day and night, 

Thy kingly robes keep pure and bright; 
Give thee bright dreams, 

O glorious king of war! 


Chorus 


Give thee bright dreams, 
O glorious king of war! 


And if thy hand would slay thy foes 
In war, in war! 

With thee returning victory goes 
In war, in war! 

We grant thee victory, my King; 

Like marshes swept by storms, we bring 
Our power to thee 

With victory in war! 


135 


136 ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


Chorus 


Our power to thee 
With victory in war! 


And if thou wouldst the waters pass, 
The sea, the sea! 

We'll go with thee in every place, 
With thee, with thee! 

To Hea’s halls and glorious throne, 

Where he unrivalled reigns alone, 
To Hea go 

Upon his throne of snow. 


Chorus 


To Hea go 
Upon his throne of snow. 


And if thine anger rules thy heart 
As fire, as ure! 

And thou against thy foes would start 
With ire, with ire! 

Against thy foes thy heart be hard, 

And all their land with fire be scarred, 
Destroy thy foes! 

Destroy them in thine ire! 


Chorus 


Destroy thy foes! 
Destroy them in thine ire! 


And lo! young Siduri hath disappeared, 

And with the Zisi crowned she now appeared; 

The corn-gods in a crescent round their queen, 

She waves before the king her Nusku®* green, 

And sings with her sweet voice a joyful lay, 

And all the Zisi join the chorus gay: 

3“ Nusku,” a budding or blooming. which was called the plant of Nusku, 


shrub or branch, the wand of the the divining-rod. 
Queen, used in magical incantations, 


SONGS OF THE SABITU AND ZI-SI 137 


*A heifer of the corn am I, 
Kara! Kara!5 
Yoked with the kine we gayly fly, 
Kara! Kara! 
The ploughman’s hand is strong and drives 
The glowing soil, the meadow thrives! 
Before the oxen 
Sa-lum-mat-u_ na-si.® 


Chorus 


Before the oxen 
Sa-lum-mat-u na-si. 


The harvesters are in the corn! 
Kara! Kara! 

Our feet are flying with the morn, 
Kara! Kara! 

We bring thee wealth! it is thine own! 

The grain is ripe! oh, cut it down! 
The yellow grain 

Sa-lum-mat-u na-si. 


Chorus 


The yellow grain 
Sa-lum-mat-u na-si. 


The fruit of death, oh, King, taste it not! 
Taste not! taste not! 

With fruit of Life the land is fraught 
Around! around! 

The fruit of Life we give to thee 

And happiness, oh, ever see. 
All joy is thine 

Through Earth and Heaven’s bound. 


Chorus 
All joy is thine 
Through Earth and Heaven’s bound. 


* See Accadian songs, “‘ C. I. W. A.,”’ 6“ Kara!’ cry out, sing, shout. 
vol. ii, 15, 16, and translated by Mr. 6  Sa-lum-mat-u na-si,” lift up the 
Sayce in ‘* Records of the Past,” vol. shadows, or be joyful. 

Xl, Pp. 154, 155. 


138 ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


Our corn immortal there is high 
And ripe! and ripe! 
And ever ripens ‘neath that sky 
As gold! as gold! 
Our corn is bearded,’ thus ’tis known, 
And ripens quickly when ’tis grown. 
Be joy with thee, 
Our love around thee fold! 


Chorus 
Be joy with thee, 
Our love around thee fold! 


Our King from us now goes, now goes! 
Away! away! 

His royal robe behind him glows 
Afar! afar! 

Across the waves where Hea reigns 

The waters swollen he soon gains! 
To our great seer, 

He sails to him afar! 


Chorus 


To our great seer, 
He sails to him afar! 


And he will reach that glorious land 
Away! away! 

Amid our fruit-trees he will stand 
That day! that day! 

Our fruit so sweet the King will eat, 

Nor bitter mingle with the sweet. 
In our seer’s land 

That glows afar away! 


Chorus 


In our seer’s land 
That glows afar away! 
** Our corn is bearded.” This refers ‘‘the corn is bearded.” (“ Records of 


to the heads of wheat which are the Past,’’ vol, xi. p. 156.) 
bearded. See translation by Mr. Sayce, 


SONGS OF THE SABITU AND ZI-SI 13 


The singing spirits from them fled, and he 
Alone stood thinking by young Siduri. 


The King leaned on his bow, and eyed the maid, 

A happy look came in his eyes,—and fled, 

For lo! the curtain quick aside is pushed, 

And Sabitu within upon them rushed. 

She stately glides across the shining floor, 

And eyes them both, then turns toward the door. 
But Izdubar is equal to the task, 

With grace now smiling, of the maid doth ask: 

“O Sabitu! wouldst thou tell me the way 

To Khasisadra? for I go this day. 

If I the sea may cross, how shall I go? 

Or through the desert? thou the path mayst know.” 
The maiden startled looks upon his face, 

And thus she answers him with queenly grace: 
“So soon must go? Thou canst not cross the sea, 
For thou wilt perish in the waves that way. 

Great Samas once the way of me did ask, 

And I forbade him, but the mighty task 

He undertook, and crossed the mighty deep, 
Where Death’s dark waters lie in wait asleep: 
His mighty car of gold swept through the skies, 
With fiery chargers now he daily flies. 

When I approach thee, thou from me wouldst flee? 
But if thou must so soon thus go, the sea 

Perhaps thou too canst cross, if thou wilt ’void 
Death’s waters, which relentless ever glide. 

But Izdubar, Ur-Hea, here hath come! 

The boatman of the seer, who to his home 
Returns. He with an axe in yonder woods 

A vessel builds to cross the raging floods. 

If thou desirest not to cross with him, 

We here will welcome thee through endless time; 
But if thou goest, may they see thy face 

Thou seekest,—welcome thee, and thy heart bless. 


140 ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


COLUMN Il 


THe Kine on Leavinc THE Happy Harts Meers Ur-HkEa, 
THE BOATMAN OF THE SEER KHASISADRA—JIHEY BUILD 
A SHIP AND EMBARK ON AN UNKNOWN SEA, AND ON 
Tuer Voyace Pass THROUGH THE WATERS OF DEATE 


And Izdubar turned from the Halls and goes 
Toward a fountain in the park, whence flows 

A merry stream toward the wood. He finds 
An axe beside the fount, and thoughtful winds, 
Through groves of sandal-wood and mastic-trees 
And algum, umritgana. Now he sees 

The sig-a-ri and ummakana, pines, 

With babuaku; and ri-wood brightly shines 
Among the azuhu; all precious woods 

That man esteems are grown around, each buds 
Continuous in the softened, balmy air. 

He stops beneath a musrilkanna where 

The pine-trees spread toward the glowing sea, 
Wild mingled with the surman, sa-u-ri. 


The King, now seated, with himself communes, 
Heeds not the warbling of the birds, and tunes 
Of gorgeous songsters in the trees around, 

But sadly sighing gazes on the ground: 

“And I a ship must build; alas! I know 

Not how I shall return, if I thus go. 

The awful Flood of Death awaits me there, 
Wide-stretching from this shore—I know not where.” 
He rests his chin upon his hand in thought, 

Full weary of a life that woe had brought; 

He says: “ When I remember Siduri, 

Whose heart with fondest love would comfort me 
Within these Happy Halls, why should I go 

To pain and anguish, death, mayhap, and woe? 
But will I thus desert my kingdom, throne? 

For one I know not! What! my fame alone! 
Mine honor should preserve! and royal state! 
Alas! this Fame is but a dream of—Fate! 


THE KING MEETS UR-HEA 141 


A longing after that which does not cheer 

The heart. Applause of men, or thoughtless sneer, 
Is naught to me, I am alone! alone! 

This Immortality cannot atone 

For my hard fate that wrings mine aching heart. 
I long for peace and rest, and I must start 

And find it, leave these luring bright abodes,— 

I seek the immortality of gods. 

This Fame of man is not what it doth seem, 

It sleeps with all the past, a vanished dream, 

My duty calls me to my kingdom, throne! 

To Khasisadra go, whose aid alone 

Can save my people from an awful fate 

That hangs above them, born of Fiends of hate. 
And I shall there return without my seer! 

I live; and he is dead. Why did I hear 

His words advising me to come? Alas! 

I sadly all my weary days shall pass; 

No one shall love me as my seer, my friend. 


But what said Siduri?—There comes an end 

At last to sorrow, joy will hopeful spring 

On wings of Light! Oh, how my heart will sing! 
I bless ye all, ye holy spirits here! 

Your songs will linger with me, my heart cheer; 
Upon my way I turn with joy again! 

How true your joyful song! your memory then 
Will keep me hopeful through yon darkened way; 
How bright this land doth look beside the sea!” 


He looks across the fields; the river glows 

And winds beside taprani-trees, and flows 

By teberinth and groves of tarpikhi 

And ku-trees; curving round green mez-kha-i, 
Through beds of flowers, that kiss its waves and spring 
Luxuriant,—with songs the groves far ring. 

Now thinking of the ship, he turns his eyes, 

Toward the fountain,—springs up with surprise! 
“°Tis he! the boatman comes! Ur-Hea comes! 

And, oh! at last, I'll reach the glistening domes 


142 


ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


Of Khasisadra’s palaces,—at last 
My feet shall rest,—upon that land be placed.” 


And now Ur-Hea nearer makes his way, 

And Izdubar addressing him, doth say: 

“ Ur-Hea is thy name? from yonder sea 
Thou comest, from the seer across the way?” 


“Thou speakest truth, great Sar, what wouldst thou have?” 
“ How shall I Khasisadra reach? The grave 

He hath escaped, Immortal lives beyond, 

For I to him upon my way am bound; 
Shall I the waters cross or take my way 

Through yon wide desert, for I start this day?” 


“Across the sea we go, for I with thee 

Return to him,—I know the winding way. 

Thine axe of bronze with precious stones inlaid 

With mine, we'll use beneath the pine-trees’ shade.” 


And now, within the grove a ship they made, 
Complete and strong as wise Ur-Hea bade. 
They fell the pines five gar in length, and hew 
The timbers square, and soon construct a new 
And buoyant vessel, firmly fixed the mast, 
And tackling, sails, and oars make taut and fast. 
Thus built, toward the sea they push its prow, 
Equipped complete, provisioned, launch it now. 
An altar next they raise and thus invoke 

The gods, their evil-workings to revoke: 


1O Lord of Charms, Illustrious! who gives 
Life to the Dead, the Merciful who lives, 

And grants to hostile gods of Heaven return, 
To homage render, worship thee, and learn 


1This remarkable prayer is to be 
found among a collection of prayers 
which are numbered and addressed to 
separate deities. It seems that the 
prayers were originally Accadian, and 
were afterward adopted by the As- 
syrians, and made to apply to one god 
(Hea). Professor Oppert and Profes- 
sor Sayce think, however, that they are 


This 
may have been so after the Assyrians 
adopted them, but they are distinct, and 
addressed to separate gods. he one 
we have selected is addressed to Hea, 
the Creator of Mankind, Sayce edition 
Smith’s ‘' C. A. G.,” pp. 75 to 80. The 
one we have selected is found at the 
top of page 77, idem. 


connected in one hymn to Hea. 


ON AN UNKNOWN SEA 143 


Obedience! Thou who didst create mankind 
In tenderness, thy love round us, oh, wind! 
The Merciful, the God with whom is Life, 
Establish us, O Lord, in darkest strife. 

O never may thy truth forgotten be, 

May Accad’s race forever worship thee.” 


One month and fifteen days upon the sea, 
Thus far the voyagers are on their way; 
Now black before them lies a barren shore, 
O’ertopped with frowning cliffs, whence. comes a roar 
Of some dread fury of the elements 
That shakes the air and sweeping wrath foments 
O’er winds and seas. 

And see! a yawning cave, 
There opens vast into a void dislave, 
Where freméd shadows ride the hueless waves. 
Dread Ninazu whose deathless fury craves 
For hapless victims lashes with a roar 
The mighty seas upon that awful shore. 
The Fiends of Darkness gathered lie in wait, 
With Mammitu, the goddess of fierce hate, 
And Gibil? with his spells, and Nibiru * 
The twin-god of black Fate, and grim Nusku * 
The keeper of red thunders, and Urbat ® 
The dog of Death, and fiend of Queen Belat;*® 
And Nuk-khu, and the black-browed Ed-hutu? 
The gods of darkness here with Tsi-lat-tu.® 


And see! Dark Rimmon ® o’er a crag alone! 

And Gibil with his blasting malisoun, 

Above with his dark face maleficent, 

Who wields a power o’er men omnipotent 
Forlore! forlore! the souls who feel that blast 
Which sweeps around that black forbidding coast! 
Fierce whirling storms and hurricanes here leap, 
With blasting lightnings maltalent and sweep 


2“ Gibil,” the god of fire, of spells ap Urbat,” the dog of Dea 


and witchcraft. “ Belat ” or “ Allat,” they deka of 
8“ Nibiru,” the god of fate, and ruler Hades, 
of | the stars. “ Ed-hutu,”’ , god of darkness. 
‘Nusku,” the gatekeeper of thun- a « Tsi-lat-tu.” shades of night. 


He *“ Rimmon,” god of storms. 


144 ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


The furious waves that lash around that shore, 

As the fierce whirl of some dread maélstrom’s power! 
Above the cavern’s arch! see! Ninip?° stands! 
He points within the cave with beckoning hands! 
Ur-Hea cries: ‘“ My lord! the tablets + say, 

That we should not attempt that furious way! 
Those waters of black death will smite us down! 
Within that cavern’s depths we will but drown.” 
“We cannot go but once, my friend, that road,” 
The hero said, “’Tis only ghosts’ abode! ” 

“We go, then, Izdubar, its depths will sound, 

But we within that gloom will whirl around, 
Around, within that awful whirlpool black,— 
And once within, we dare not then turn back,— 
How many times, my friend, I dare not say, 

’Tis written, we within shall make our way.” 


The foaming tide now grasped them with its power, 
And billowed round them with continuous roar; 
Away! they whirl! with growing speed, till now 
They fly on lightnings’ wings and ride the brow 

Of maddened tempests o’er the dizzy deep. 

So swift they move,—the waves in seeming sleep 
Beneath them, whirling there with force unseen. 


But see! Updarting with a sulphurous gleen, 
The hag of Death leaps on the trembling prow! 
Her eyes, of fire and hate, turns on them now! 
With famine gaunt, and haggard face of doom, 
She sits there soundless in the awful gloom. 


“O gods!” shrieked Izdubar in his despair, 

“ Have I the god of Fate at last met here? 
Avaunt, thou Fiend! hence to thy pit of Hell! 
Hence! hence! and rid me of thy presence fell! ” 


And see! she nearer comes with deathless ire, 
With those fierce, moveless, glaring eyes of fire! 
Her wand is raised! she strikes! 
10 “ Ninip,’”? god of bravery and war. modern navigators. Babylon commu- 


i“ Tablets.” This may mean charts  nicated with all nations in commerce. 
or scrolls similar to the charts used by 


THROUGH THE WATERS OF DEATH 144 


“O gods!” he screams ; 
He falls beneath that bolt that on them gleams, 
And she is gone within the awful gloom. 
Hark! hear those screams! 
“Accurst! Accurst thy doom!” 

And lo! he springs upon his feet in pain, 
And cries: 

“ Thy curses, fiend! I hurl again!” 
And now a blinding flash disparts the black 
And heavy air, a moment light doth break; 
And see! the King leans fainting ’gainst the mast, 
With glaring eyeballs, clenched hands,—aghast ! 
Behold! that pallid face and scaly hands! 
A leper white, accurst of gods, he stands! 
A living death, a life of awful woe, 
Incurable by man, his way shall go. 
But oh! the seer in all enchantments wise 
Will cure him on that shore, or else he dies. 


And see! the vessel’s prow with shivering turns, 
Adown the roaring flood that gapes and churns 
Beneath like some huge boiling cauldron black, 
Thus whirl they in the slimy cavern’s track. 
And spirit ravens round them fill the air, 

And see! they fly! the cavern sweeps behind! 
Away the ship doth ride before the wind! 

The darkness deep from them has fled away, 

The fiends are gone !—the vessel in the spray 
With spreading sails has caught the glorious breeze, 
And dances in the light o’er shining seas ; 

The blissful haven shines upon their way, 

The waters of the Dawn sweep o’er the sea! 
They proudly ride up to the glowing sand, 

And joyfully the King springs to the land. 


10 


146 ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


COLUMN III 


KHASISADRA ON THE SHORE SEES THE VESSEL COMING, AND 
RETURNING TO His PALACE, SENDS His DAUGHTER Mua 
TO WELCOME [zDUBAR—MEETING OF THE KING AND SAGE 


Beneath a ku-tree Khasisadra eyes 

The spreading sea beneath the azure skies, 
An agéd youth with features grave, serene, 
Matured with godly wisdom; ne’er was seen 
Such majesty, nor young, nor old,—a seer 

In purpose high. The countenance no fear 
Of death has marred, but on his face sublime 
The perfect soul has left its seal through time. 


“ Ah, yes! the dream was clear, the vision true, 

I saw him on the ship! Is it in view? 

A speck! Ah, yes! He comes! he comes to me 
My son from Erech comes across the sea!” 

Back to his palace goes the holy seer, 

And Mua? sends, who now the shore doth near; 

As beautiful as Waters of the Dawn, 

Comes Mua here, as graceful as a fawn. 


The King now standing on the glistening sand, 
Beholds the beauteous Mua where she stands, 

With hands outstretched in welcome to the King, 
“O thou sweet spirit, with thy snowy wing, 

Oh, where is Khasisadra in this land? 

I seek the aid of his immortal hand.” 

“Great Sar,” said Mua, “ hadst thou not a seer, 
That thou shouldst come to seek my father here?” 


“°Tis true, my daughter dear, a seer had I, 
Whom If have lost,—a dire calamity ; 

By his advice and love I undertake 

This journey. But alas! for mine own sake 

He fell by perils on this lengthened way; 

He was not strong, and feared that he should lay 


1“ Mua,” the waters of the dawn, the daughter of Khasisadra. 


MUA WELCOMES IZDUBAR 


Himself to rest amid the mountains wild. 

He was a warrior, with him I killed 

Khumbaba, Elam’s king who safely dwelt 

Within a forest vast of pines, and dealt 
Destruction o’er the plains. We razed his walls— 
My friend at last before me dying falls. 


Alas! why did my seer attempt to slay 

The dragons that we met upon the way, 
He slew his foe, and like a lion died. 

Ah, me! the cause, when I the gods defied, 
And brought upon us all this awful woe; 

In sorrow o’er his death, my life must flow! 
For this I came to find the ancient seer, 
Lead me to him, I pray, if he lives here.” 


Then Mua leads him through the glorious land 

Of matchless splendor, on the border grand 

Of those wide Happy Fields that spread afar 

O’er beaming hills and vales, where ambient air 

With sweetest zephyrs sweeps a grand estrade, 

Where softest odors from each flowering glade 

Lull every sense aswoon that breathes not bliss 

And harmony with World of Blessedness. 

*Neath trees of luring fruits she leads the way, 
Through paths of flowers where night hath fled away, 
A wilderness of varied crystal flowers, 

Where fragrance rests o’er clustering, shining bowers. 
Each gleaming cup its nectared wine distils, 

For spirit lips each chalice ever fills. 


Beyond the groves a lucent palace shone 

In grandest splendor near an inner zone; 

In amethyst and gold divinely rose, 

With glories scintillant the palace glows. 

A dazzling halo crowns its lofty domes, 

And spreading from its summit softly comes . 
With grateful rays, and floods the balustrades 
And golden statues ’neath the high arcades; 
A holy palace built by magic hand 

With wondrous architecture, portals grand, 


147 


148 ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


And aurine turrets piled to dizzy heights, 
Oh, how its glory Izdubar delights! 


Beneath majestic arcades carved, they pass, 
Up golden steps that shine like polished glass, 
Through noble corridors with sculptured walls, 
By lofty columns, archways to the halls 

Of glories, the bright harbinger of fanes 

Of greater splendor of the Heavenly plains. 
Beneath an arch of gems the King espies 

A form immortal, he who death defies. 
Advancing forth the sage his welcome gives, 
“°Tis Izdubar who comes to me and lives!” 
Embracing him he leads him in a room, 
Where many a curious graven tablet, tome, 
And scrolls of quaint and old forgotten lore 
Have slept within for centuries of yore. 

The tablets high are heaped, the alcoves full, 
Where truth at last has found a welcome goal. 
In wisdom’s room, the sage his guest has led, 
And seats him till the banquet high is spread; 
Of Izdubar he learns his journeys great, 
How he for aid has left his throne of state. 


The maid now comes, him welcomes to the hall 
Of banquets, where are viands liberal, 

And fruits, immortal bread, celestial wines 

Of vintage old; and when the hero dines, 
They lead him to his private chamber room 
That overlooks the wondrous garden’s bloom 
Across the plain and jasper sea divine, 
To Heaven’s mountains rising sapphirine. 
Four beauteous streams of liquid silver lead 
Across the plain; the shining sea they feed; 
The King reclines upon his couch at rest, 
With dreams of happiness alone is blest. 


THE KING IS CURED BY KHASISADRA 


149 


COLUMN IV 


THE KING IS CURED BY THE INCANTATIONS OF KHASISADRA 
AND HE BEcoMEsS IMMORTAL 


When Izdubar awakes, they lead the way 
To the bright fount beside the jasper sea. 
The seer, with Mua and Ur-Hea, stands 
Beside the King, who holily lifts his hands 
Above an altar where the glowing rays 

Of sacred flames are curling; thus he prays: 


sé 


Remember me! 


Ye glorious stars that shine on high, 
Oh, hear my cry, 


Su-ku-nu,? bright Star of the West! 
Dil-gan, my patron star, oh, shine! 

O Mar-bu-du, whose rays invest 

Dear Nipur? with thy light divine, 

The flames that shines, upon the Waste! 
O Papsukul, thou Star of Hope, 

Sweet god of bliss, to me, oh, haste, 
Before I faint and lifeless drop! 


O Adar,’ Star of Ninazu, 
Be kind! 


O Ra-di-tar-tu-khu. 


Sweet U-tu-ca-ga-bu,* dear Star 
With thy pure face that shines afar! 


Oh, pardon me! each glorious Star! 


Za-ma-ma,° hear me! 
Ca-ca-ma u Ca-ca-ma.” ® 


7™Remember him! 
Ca-ca-ma u Ca-ca-ma.”’ 


1“ Su-ku-nu” or ‘“* Kak-si-di,” the 
star of the West. | " 

2“ Nipur,” the city from which Iz- 
dubar came. : 

s“ Adar,” the star of Ninazu, the 
poise of death, who cursed him with 
eprosy in the cavern. This star was 
also called “ Ra-di-tar-tu-khu.” — 

4“ U-tu-ca-ga-bu,” the star with the 
white or pure face. 

5 ** Za-ma-ma,” another name _ for 
Adar. This is the deity for whom Iz- 
dubar or Nammurabi built the great 


O Za-ma-ma! 


O dear Za-ma-ma! 


temple whose top, in the language of 
the Babylonians, reached the skies. It 
was afterward called the “‘ Tower of the 
Country”’ or “ Tower of Babylon.” 
This was perhaps the Tower of Babel. 
He also restored another temple called 
** Bite-muris,’”’ which was dedicated to 
the same goddess. 

6“ Amen and amen!” The word 
“amen” is usually repeated three 
times. 

7 The response of the priest Khasi- 
sadra. 


150 ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


As Izdubar doth end his holy prayer 

He kneels, and they now bear his body where 
A snowy couch doth rest beneath a shrine 
That stands near by the glowing fount divine, 
And Khasisadra lifts his holy hands, 

His incantation chants, and o’er him stands. 


“© Bel, Lord of An-nu-na-ci, 
O Nina, Hea’s daughter! Zi!® 
This Incantation aid, 
Remember us, Remember! 


*Ye tempests of High Heaven, be still! 
Ye. raging lightnings, oh, be calm! 

From this brave man his strength is gone, 
Before thee see him lying ill! 

Oh, fill with strength his feeble frame, 

O Ishtar, shine from thy bright throne! 
From him thine anger turn away, 

Come from thy glowing mountains, come! 
From paths untrod by man, oh, haste! 
And bid this man arise this day. 

With strength divine as Heaven’s dome, 
His form make pure and bright and chaste! 
The evil curse, oh, drive away! 


Go! A-sac-cu-kab-bi-lu,’® go! 

O Nam-ta-ru-lim-nu,’ oh, fly! 
U-tuc-cu-lim-nu? from him flow! 
A-lu-u-lim-nu,? hence! away! 
E-ci-mu-lim-nu,* go! thou fiend! 

Fly, Gal-lu-u-lim-nu,° afar! 

Fly from his head! his life! I send 
Thee, fiend! depart from Izdubar! 

Go from his forehead, breast, and heart, 
And feet! Avaunt! thou fiend! depart! 


Bi Zi,” spirits. iid bay lu-u-lim-nu,” evil spirit of the 

Peet Ts). 08. As vol. ii, p. 31. brea j 

10 «6 A- -sac-cu-kab-bi-lu,”” evil spirit of 4 ‘ oe -ci-mu-lim-nu,” evil spirit of the 
the head. stomach. 

1“ Nam-ta-ru-lim-nu,” evil spirit of 5 ** Gal-lu-u-lim-nu,”’ evil spirit of the 
the life or heart. hands. 


€é ” 


-tuc-cu-lim-nu, 


evil spirit of the 
Pile 


THE KING BECOMES IMMORTAL I51 


Oh, from the Curse, Thou Spirit High! 
And Spirit of the Earth, come nigh! 
Protect him, may his spirit fly! 

O Spirit of the Lord of Lands, 

And Goddess of the Earthly Lands, 

Protect him! raise with strength his hands! 


Oh, make him as the Holy Gods, 

His body, limbs, like thine Abodes, 

And like the Heavens may he shine! 

And like the Earth with rays divine! 

Quick! with the khis-ib-ta® to bring 

High Heaven’s Charm—bind round his brow! 
The sis-bu’ place around his hands! 

And let the sab-u-sat® bright cling! 

The mus-u-kat® lay round him now, . 

And wrap his feet with rad-bat-bands,?° 

And open now his zik-a-man?+ 

The sis-bu cover, and his hands 

The bas-sat? place around his form! 

From baldness and disease, this man 

Cleanse, make him whole, head, feet, and hands! 


O Purity, breathe thy sweet charm! 


Restore his health and make his skin 
Shine beautifully, beard and hair 

Restore! make strong with might his loins! 
And may his body glorious shine 

As the bright gods !— 


Ye winds him bear! 
Immortal flesh to his soul joins! 


* “ Khis-ib-ta,” a strip of parchment 10 ** Rad-bat-bands,”’ similar bands to 
or linen on which was inscribed a holy the khis- ib-ta. 
text, a charm like that used by the “* Zik-a-man,” this is unknown, it 
ge hilactery. perhaps was the inner garment. 

td Sis- u,”’ the same as the preced- as-sat,’’ supposed to be the out- 

ing, side or last covering placed over the 

‘* Sab-u-sat,”” was perhaps a_ holy person so treated. hat some such 

cloth, also inscribed in the same man- ceremony was performed in the case of 
ner. Izdubar seems to be undoubted. See 

® “* Mus-u-kat,”’ was also of the same “Trans. Soc. Bib. Arch.,’”’ vol. ii. Vy 
character as the preceding. 313 also Sayce’s edition smith’s “ C, 


of G.,” p. 290. 


152 ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


Thou Spirit of this man! arise! 
Come forth with joy! Come to the skies!” 


And lo! his leprosy has fled away! 
He stands immortal,—purged! released from clay! 


COLUMN V 


IzpuBAR Fats IN Love witH Mua, AND OFFERS Her His 
HAND 


“© Mua! thou bright Waters of the Dawn! 
Oh, where art thou?” one cries as he doth run 
Through the bright garden. See! ’tis Izdubar! 
Immortal! glorious! our King of War! 

And now in love is seeking Mua here. 

He scarcely treads the ground as he comes near; 
A glow of youth immortal on his cheek, 

A form that sorrow, death, will never seek 
Within these Happy Fields, his eyes with light 
That Love alone may give, show his delight. 


A dazzling pillared vista round him shines, 

Where golden columns bear the bowering shrines, 
With gemmed domes that clustering round him rise, 
’*Mid fruit-trees, flashing splendors to the skies. 
He goes through silver grots along a zone, 

And now he passes yonder blazing throne, 

O’er diamond pavements, passes shining seats 
Whereon the high and holy conclave meets 

To rule the empires vast that spread away 

To utmost bounds in all their vast array. 

Around the whole expanse grand cestes spread 
O’er paths sidereal unending lead. 

As circling wheels within a wheel they shine, 
Enveloping the Fields with light divine. 

A noontide glorious of shining stars, 

Where humming music rings from myriad cars, 
Where pinioned multitudes their harps may tune, 
And in their holy sanctity commune. 


IZDUBAR FALLS IN LOVE WITH MUA 153 


And see! here Mua comes! she stops and waits 
Within a gesdin bower beside its gates. 

Around, above her spreads a flowering vine, 

And o’er a ruby fountain almandine. 

And on a graven garnet table grand, 

Carved cups of solid pearl and tilpe? stand. 

A Zadu? reservoir stands near, which rounds 

The fount wherein the fragrant nectar bounds. 
The ground is strewn with pari * gems and pearls, 
Wherefrom the light now softly backward hurls 
Its rays o’er couches of paruti‘ stone, 

Soft cushioned, circling in the inner zone 

Beside the shining kami-sadi way,° 

Where nectar fountains in their splendor play. 
The path leads far along Life’s beauteous stream, 
That ever through this World of Joy doth gleam. 


And see! the hero comes! and now doth near 
The maiden, where with Love she waits him here. 
She flings a flowering garland, weaves it round 
His form as he comes by! He turns around, 
And she enwraps his breast and arms, and says: 


“ Dear Izdubar! and thus my lover strays! 
I’ll bind thee wi’: this fragrant chain to keep 
Thee ever by my side! thy pleasant sleep 
Hath kept my lover from my side too long!” 


“© thou sweet spirit, like a warbling song 
Thy words are to my heart! I sought for thee, 
And thy bright face and presence did not see; 
I come to tell thee that I must return, 

When from thy father all the past shall learn.” 


“ And wilt thou go from me to earth again? 
No! no! dear Izdubar, I thee enchain!” 


1“ Tilpe,’” a precious gem known 5 Kami-sadi”’ way, a path paved 
only to the Babylonians. with unknown gems. These precious 
£** Zadu,” a precious gem known only — stones are mentioned on the various 
to the Babylonians. inscriptions in the list of precious 
#“ Pari,” an unknown gem. jewels with gold, diamonds, pearls, etc., 


*** Paruti,” an unknown gem. taken as spoils from their enemies. 


154 ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


“°Tis true, my love, I must return to men; 
My duty calls me to my throne again.” 


“ Dear Izdubar! my friend! my love! my heart! 
I cannot let thee from my soul depart! 

Thou shinest in my breast as some bright star! 
And shall I let thee from me go afar?” 


“ But Mua, we immortal are, and we 

There might return; and thou on earth shalt see 
The glories of my kingdom,—be my queen! 
Upon a couch I[’ll seat thee, there to reign 

With me, my beauteous queen,—beside me sit; 
And kings will come to us and kiss thy feet. 
With all my wealth I’ll clothe thee, ever love 
Thee, fairest of these glorious souls that move 
Within this Happy World. My people there 
Shall love us,—ever drive away all care! ” 


When Mua heard him offer thus his hand, | 
She then unbinds him,—thoughtful now doth stand. 


COLUMN VI 
Mua’s ANSWER 


Sweet Mua lifts her eyes toward the heights 
That glow afar beneath the softened lights 
That rest upon the mountain’s crystalline. 

And see! they change their hues incarnadine 
To gold, and emerald, and opaline; 

Swift changing to a softened festucine 

Before the eye. And thus they change their hues 
To please the sight of every soul that views 
Them in that Land; but she heeds not the skies, 
Or glorious splendor of her home; her eyes 
Have that far look of spirits viewing men 

On earth, from the invisible mane, 

That erstwhile rests upon the mortal eye,— 

A longing for that home beyond the sky; 


ee oe ee le 


MUA’S ANSWER 


A yearning for that bliss that love imparts, 
Where pain and sorrow reach no mortal hearts. 


A light now breaks across her beauteous face ; 
She, turning, says to him with Heavenly grace: 


“ Dear Izdubar, thou knowest how I love 

Thee, how my heart my love doth daily prove; 
And, oh, I cannot let thee go alone. 

I know not what awaits each soul there gone. 
Our spirits often leave this glorious land, 
Invisible return on earth, and stand 

Amidst its flowerets, ‘neath its glorious skies. 
Thou knowest every spirit here oft flies 

From earth, but none its secrets to us tell, 
Lest some dark sorrow might here work its spell. 
And, oh, I could not see dark suffering, woe 
There spread, with power none to stop its flow! 


I saw thee coming to us struck with fire, 

Oh, how to aid thee did my heart desire! 

Our tablets tell us how dread sorrow spreads 
Upon that world and mars its glowing meads. 

But, oh, so happy am I, here to know 

That they with us here end all sorrow, woe. 

O precious Izdubar! its sights would strike 

Me there with sadness, and my heart would break! 
And yet I learn that it is glorious, sweet! 

To there enjoy its happiness,—so fleet 

It speeds to sorrowing hearts to turn their tears 
To joy! How sweet to them when it appears, 

And sends a gleam of Heaven through their lives! 


No! no! dear heart! I cannot go! It grieves 
Thee! come, my dear one! quick to us return ; 
We here again will pair our love, and learn 
How sweet it is to meet with joy again; 

How happy will sweet love come to us then!” 


She rests her head upon his breast, and lifts 
Her face for Love’s sweet kiss, and from them drifts 


153 


156 ISHTAR AND IZDUBAR 


A halo o’er the shining gesdin-trees 

And spreads around them Heaven’s holy rays. 
He kissses her sweet lips, and brow, and eyes, 
Then turns his gaze toward the glowing skies: 


“T bless thee, for thy sweetest spirit here! 
I bless this glorious land, that brings me near 
To one that wafts sweet Heaven in my heart; 
From thy dear plains how can my soul depart? 
O Mua, Mua! how my heart now sings! 
Thy love is sweeter than all earthly things! 
I would I were not crowned a king !—away 
From this bright land—here would I ever stay! 
As thou hast said, I soon will here return; 
The earth cannot withhold me from this bourne, 
And soon my time allotted there will end, 
And hitherward how happy I will wend!” 
“And when thou goest, how my love shall there 
Guard thee, and keep thy heart with Mua here. 
Another kiss!” 

Her form doth disappear 
Within the garden, gliding through the air. 
He seats himself upon a couch and rests 
His head upon his hand, and thought invests 
Him round. His memory returns again 
To Erech’s throne, and all the haunts of men. 
He rises, turns his footsteps to the halls, 
And thoughtful disappears within its walls. 


CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


[Translated by various Babylonian and Assyrian Scholars | 


") 
What 
X en u i AM 
Tee SRNON GL (NAA 
: aN i neh s} NY 

i. Bi | \ 


} 


Ni} 
2 


i 
wal 


Wey Mimi 
ONC Mh 


JA 
Ay 
| 


ide iD 
Bit Tie 

a re AN 

(ud ROD 


) 
fove9) be 


US 
at NN iu 


th 


neh 
te 


catt 


Ay \ 4) h 
a) 


- 
ye 
Ui 


NH, 
N 


et 


hy 
LY Ag 


CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


BABYLONIAN EXORCISMS 
TRANSLATED BY Rev. A. H. Sayce, M.A. 


HE charms translated below will illustrate the supersti- 
tion of the Assyrians and Babylonians. Like the Jews 
of the Talmud, they believed that the world was swarm- 

ing with noxious spirits who produced the various diseases to 
which man is liable, and might be swallowed with the food and 
the drink that support life. They counted no less than 300 
spirits of heaven and 600 spirits of earth. All this, with the 
rest of their mythology, was borrowed by the Assyrians from 
the primitive population of Babylonia, who spoke an aggluti- 
native language akin to the dialects of the Finnic or Tatar 
tribes. The charms are written in this ancient language, but 
Assyrian translations are appended in a column to the right 
of the tablet. The legends are lithographed in the “ Cuneiform 
Inscriptions of Western Asia,” Vol. II, plates 17 and 18. They 
have been translated by M. Oppert in the “ Journal Asiatique” 
of January, 1873, and an analytical rendering of them is given 
by M. Fr. Lenormant in his “ Etudes Accadiennes,’ Il, 1 


(1874). 
TRANSLATION OF THE EXORCISMS 


TABLET [ 


The noxious god, the noxious spirit of the neck, the neck- 
spirit of the desert, the neck-spirit of the mountains, the neck- 
spirit of the sea, the neck-spirit of the morass, the noxious 
cherub of the city, this noxious wind which seizes the body 
(and) the health of the body. Spirit of heaven remember, spirit 
of earth remember. 

159 


160 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


TaBLeT II 


The burning spirit of the neck which seizes the man, the burn- 
ing spirit of the neck which seizes the man, the spirit of the neck 
which works evil, the creation of an evil spirit. Spirit of heaven 
remember, spirit of earth remember. 


Taset III 


Wasting, want of health, the evil spirit of the ulcer, spreading 
quinsy of the gullet, the violent ulcer, the noxious ulcer. 
Spirit of heaven remember, spirit of earth remember. 


TABLET IV 


Sickness of the entrails, sickness of the heart, the palpitation 
of a sick heart, sickness of bile, sickness of the head, noxious 
colic, the agitation of terror, flatulency’ of the entrails, noxious 
illness, lingering sickness, nightmare. Spirit of heaven remem- 
ber, spirit of earth remember. 


TABLET V 


He who makes an image (which) injures the man,? an evil 
face, an evil eye, an evil mouth, an evil tongue, evil lips, an evil 
poison. Spirit of heaven remember, spirit of earth remember. 


TABLET VI 


The cruel spirit, the strong spirit of the head, the head-spirit 
that departs not, the head-spirit that goes not forth, the head- 
spirit that will not go, the noxious head-spirit. Spirit of heaven 
remember, spirit of earth remember. 


TasLet VII 
The poisonous spittle of the mouth® which is noxious to the 
voice, the phlegm which is destructive tothe . . ., the pus- 


tules of the Jungs, the pustule of the body, the loss of the nails, 
the removal (and) dissolving of old excrement, the skin which 
is stripped off, the recurrent ague of the body, the food which 


1 Literally, ‘‘ opposition.” that Horace (“ Sat.” i, 8, 30 sq.) speaks 
Here we have a reference to a cus- of the waxen figure made by the witch 
tom well known in the Middle Ages. Canidia in order that the lover might 
A waxen figure was made, and as it consume away in the fires of love. 
melted before the fire the person ye Roman and medieval sorcery had its 
resented by it was supposed similarly origin in that of ancient Accad. 
to waste away. It will be remembered ’ That would be consumption. 


BABYLONIAN EXORCISMS 161 


hardens in a man’s body, the food which returns after being 
eaten, the drink which distends after drinking, death by poison, 
from the swallowing of the mouth which distends, the unre- 
turning wind from the desert. Spirit of heaven remember, 
spirit of earth remember. 


TABLET VIII 


May Nin-cigal,* the wife of Nin-a’su, turn her face toward 
another place; may the noxious spirit go forth and seize an- 
other ; may the propitious cherub and the propitious genie settle 
upon his body. Spirit of heaven remember, spirit of earth 
remember. 

Tastet IX 


May Nebo, the great steward, the recliner (or incubus) 
supreme among the gods, like the god who has begotten him, 
seize upon his head; against his life may he not break forth. 
Spirit of heaven remember, spirit of earth remember. 


TABLET X 


(On) the sick man by the sacrifice of mercy may perfect 
health shine like bronze; may the Sun-god give this man life; 
may Merodach, the eldest son of the deep (give him) strength, 
prosperity, (and) health. Spirit of heaven remember, spirit 
of earth remember. 

Mighty Earth ”) : wis Ghatenrce Hades fine Lady: at thar House So Dente 


a form of “ Mat ” or “ Istar.”? She and wife of Hea or Nin-a’su. 
cm also identified with Gula or Bahu 


II 


162 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


ACCADIAN HYMN TO ISTAR 
TRANSLATED BY Rev. A. H. Sayce, M.A. 


HE following is one of the many early Chaldean hymns 
that were incorporated into a collection which M. Le- 
normant has aptly compared with the Rig-Veda of 

India. The concluding lines show that it originally belonged 
to the city of Erech (now Warka). The date of its composi- 
tion must be exceedingly remote, and this increases the interest 
of the astronomical allusions contained in it. The original 
Accadian text is given, with an interlinear Assyrian translation, 
as is usually the case with hymns of this kind. The terra-cotta 
tablet on which it is found is numbered S, 954, being one of 
those that have been recently brought back from Assyria by 
Mr. George Smith, who has translated the Reverse in his “ As- 
syrian Discoveries,’ pp. 392, 393. I owe a copy of the text to 
the kindness of Mr. Boscawen. It is of considerable impor- 
tance for the study of Assyrian grammar. 


AccADIAN Hymn To ISTAR 
OBVERSE 
1 Light of heaven, who like the fire dawnest on the world, 
(art) thou. 
2 Goddess in the earth, in thy fixed abode. 
3 who dawnest ? like the earth, (art) thou. 
4 (As for) thee, prosperity approaches thee. 
5 To the house of men in thy descending (thou goest). 
6 A hyena, which as they go in warlike strength are made to 
march, (art) thou. 
7 A lion, which into the midst is wont to march, (art) thou. 
8 Day (is thy) servant, heaven (thy) canopy. 
g The servant of Istar;* heaven (is thy) canopy. 
10 Princess of the four cities, head of the sea,* heaven (is thy) 
canopy. 
11 The exalted of the Sun-god, heaven (is thy) canopy. 
1The Assyrian rendering has, “ art 3 The translation given in the text is 
caused to journey.” extremely doubtful. 


2 The Assyrian mistranslates, ‘‘ A ser- 
vant (is) Istar.”’ 


ACCADIAN HYMN TO ISTAR 163 

OBVERSE 

12 For the revolver of the seasons sanctuaries I build, a temple 
I build. 

13 For my father the Moon-god, the revolver of the seasons, 
sanctuaries I build, a temple I build. 

14 For my brother the Sun-god, the revolver of the seasons, 
sanctuaries I build, a temple I build. 

15 (As for) me, for Nannaru‘ I build the precinct, for the 
revolver of seasons sanctuaries I build, a temple I build. 

16 In heaven he laid the hand; for the revolver of seasons sanc- 
tuaries I build, a temple I build. 

17 In the beginning (thou art) my begetter; in the beginning 
(thou art) my begetter. 

18 In the beginning the goddess spoke thus to men: 

19 The Lady of heaven,® the divinity of the zenith, (am) I. 

20 The Lady of heaven, the divinity of the dawn, (am) I. 

21 The Queen of heaven, the opener of the locks of the high 
heaven, my begetter. 

22 Heaven she benefits, earth she enlightens ;* my begetter. 

23 The benefiter of heaven, the enlightener? of earth; my be- 
getter. 


REVERSE 
1 Thou who on the axis of heaven dawnest, in the dwellings 


of the earth her name revolves; my begetter. 

2 (As) Queen of heaven above and below may she be invoked ; 
my begetter. 

3 The mountains fiercely she hurls-into-the-deep;* my be- 
getter. 

4 As to the mountains, their goodly stronghold (art) thou, 
their mighty lock (art) thou ;° my begetter. 


5 May thy heart rest; may thy liver be magnified. 

6 O Lord Anu, the mighty, may thy heart rest. 

7 O Lord, the mighty Prince*® Bel, may thy liver be magnified. 
8 O Istar, the Lady of heaven, may thy heart rest. 

9 O Lady, Queen of heaven, may thy liver (be magnified). 
4 Literally, “the brilliant one,” a title PE eit mistranslates “I” for 


of the moon-god, which gave rise to the ~t 1 SA , % 
classical legend of Nannarus. 10 “* Sadi in Assyrian, _ literally 


ait A ian renders this by “ Is- “‘mountain”’ or ‘rock,’ and_ appar 

et a mide oi 4 foneees with | the | pacer 
6 Or perhaps “ smites.” “* Shaddai,” as in the phrase ad- 
7Or Bihaon ‘* smiter.”’ dai,” ‘‘ God Almighty.” 


8 The Assyrian mistranslates, “‘ I hurl 
into the deep.” 


164 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


REVERSE 


10 O Lady, Queen of the House of heaven, may thy heart 
(rest). 

11 O Lady, Queen of the land of Erech, may thy liver (be 
magnified ). 

12 O Lady, Queen of the land of the four rivers of Erech,’ may 
thy heart (rest). 

13 O Lady, Queen of the Mountain of the World,? may thy 
liver (be magnified ). 

14 O Lady, Queen of the Temple of the Resting-place of the 
world, may thy heart (rest). 

15 O Lady, Queen of Babylon, may thy liver (be magnified). 

16 O Lady, Queen of the Memorial of Nan’a, may thy heart 
(rest). 

17 O Queen of the Temple, Queen of the gods, may thy liver 
(be magnified). 


18 Prayer of the heart to Istar. 


19 Like its original* written and translated. 
20 Palace of Assur-bani-pal, King of Assyria; 
21 Son of Esar-haddon, King of multitudes, King of Assyria, 
high-priest of Babylon, 
22 King of Sumer and Accad, King of the Kings of Cush and 
Egypt, 
23 King of the four zones; Son of Sennacherib, 
24 King of multitudes, King of Assyria; 
25 who to Assur and Beltis, Nebo and Tasmit trusts. 
26 Thy kingdom, O light of the gods. 
1 Possibly the four rivers of Paradise. 8 That is the text from which the As- 
2 Also called the ‘‘ Mountain of the syrian copy was made for the library 


East,’’ Mount Elwand on which the ark of Assurbanipal. 
rested. 


ANNALS OF ASSUR-NASIR-PAL 165 


ANNALS OF ASSUR-NASIR-PAL 
(SOMETIMES CALLED SARDANAPALUS) 
TRANSLATED, WITH Notes, By Rev. J. M. RopweLt, M.A. 


ONCERNING Assur-nasir-habal or Assur-nasir-pal 
(.e., “Assur preserves the son”) we possess fuller 
historical records than of any other of the Assyrian 
monarchs, and among these the following inscription is the most 
important. From it, and from the inscription upon his statue 
discovered by Mr. Layard? in the ruins of one of the Nimroud 
temples, we learn that he was the son of Tuklat-Adar or Tuklat- 
Ninip, that he reigned over a territory extending from the 
“ Tigris to the Lebanon, and that he brought the great sea and 
all countries from the sunrise to the sunset under his sway.” 
These inscriptions are published in the “ Cuneiform Inscriptions 
of Western Asia,” Vol. I, plates 17 to 27, and were partially 
translated by Professor Oppert, “ Histoire des Empires de 
Chaldée et d’Assyrie, page 73 and following “ Extrait des An- 
nales de philosophie chrétienne,’ tom. IX, 1865. 

There is considerable difficulty and a consequent divergence 
of opinion as to the precise date when Assur-nasir-pal ascended 
the throne. But he most probably reigned from 883 to 858 B.c. 

It need scarcely be remarked that Assur-nasir-pal is a differ- 
ent person from the well-known Sardanapalus of classic writers, 
or Assur-bani-pal, the son of Esar-haddon, who reigned from 
about B.c. 668 to 625. 

It will be seen from the inscription that the campaigns of 
Assur-nasir-pal took place in the mountains of Armenia, in 
Commagene and the provinces of the Pontus, inhabited by the 
Moschi? and other tribes. He probably advanced into Media 
and a portion of western Persia. The countries on the banks 
of the Euphrates submitted to his arms, and in one of his expe- 
ditions he vanquished Nabu-bal-iddin, King of Babylon. West- 
ward, he reduced the southern part of Syria, and advanced to 
the mountain chains of the Amanus and Lebanon, but though 
he penetrated as far as to Tyre and Sidon and exacted tribute 
from both as well as from Byblus and Aradus, he did not sub- 


1 Now in the British Museum. 2The Mesek of Psalm cxx. 5. 


166 


due Phoenicia. 


CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


The kingdoms of Israel and Judah, under the 


sway of Ahab and Jehosaphat, were no doubt too powerful, as 
is evinced by the armies which they must have maintained for 
their struggle with the Syrians,*® for Assur-nasir-pal to have 
ventured upon attacking them. This feat was reserved for his 
successors on the throne of Assyria. 

The inscription was found in the ruins of the Temple at the 
foot of the Pyramid at Nimroud (Calach). 


8See 2 Chron. xvii. 


with Assur as one of the special deities 
invoked by the Assyrian kings at the 
opening of i 
name is also written under the symbol 
used for iron (‘ parzil’’). 
later times the planets were connected 
with special metals. 

5A goddess, called also Nuha, and 
the mother of Nebo as well as of Ninip. 


ANNALS OF ASSUR-NASIR-PAL 


To Ninip* most powerful hero, great, chief of the gods, 
warrior, powerful Lord, whose onset in battle has not been 
opposed, eldest son, 

crusher of opponents, first-born son of Nukimmut,® sup- 
porter of the seven,® noble ruler, King of the gods the pro- 
ducers, governor, he who rolls along the mass 

of heaven and earth, opener of canals, treader of the wide 
earth, the god who in his divinity nourishes heaven and 
earth, the beneficent, 

the exalted, the powerful, who has not lessened the glory 
of his face,’ head of nations, bestower of sceptres, glorious, 
over all cities a ruler,® 

valiant, the renown of whose sceptre is not approached, chief 
of widespread influence, great among the gods, shading 
from the southern sun, Lord of Lords, whose hand:the vault 
of heaven 

(and) earth has controlled, a King in battle mighty® who 
has vanquished opposition, victorious, powerful, Lord of 
water-courses and seas,?° 

strong, not yielding, whose onset brings down the green 
corn, smiting the land of the enemy, like the cutting of reeds, 
the deity who changes not his purposes, 


and following Fox Talbot (Gloss. 158) compares ‘“‘ nu 


chapters. . (= ‘ al’) kimmut ” with the “ al-gum ” 
inip was one of the great gods of of Prov. xxx. 31, i.e., ‘* irresistible.” 
the Assyrian Pantheon, often joined 6 Planets. Or, “warrior among 


spirits.” I mention this rendering as 
the suggestion of Mr. G. Smith, though 
I prefer that given above. 
Literally. 4 horn vim) Chl lopuxvi. irs: 
8 Tigallu. Menant renders this sen- 
tence ‘‘ La massue pour regner sur les 
villes.”’ I 
PCE A Sse eeet | 
BD OL BA KOWiIA S|) CLMe Os 


their inscriptions. His 


Thus in 


CVii. 35. 


8 


IO 


II 


I2 


T3 


14 


15 


16 


17 
18 


ANNALS OF ASSUR-NASIR-PAL 167 


the light of heaven and earth, a bold leader on the waters, 
destroyer of them that hate (him), a spoiler (and) Lord 
of the disobedient, dividing enemies, whose name in the 
speech of the gods 

no god has ever disregarded, the gatherer of life, the god( ?) 
whose prayers are good, whose abode is in the city of Calah, 
a great Lord, my Lord—(who am) Assur-nasir-pal, the 
mighty King, 

King of multitudes, a Prince unequalled, Lord of all the 
four countries, powerful over hosts of men, the possession 
of Bel and Ninip the exalted and Anu 

and of Dakan,’ a servant of the great gods in the lofty shrine 
for great (O Ninip) is thy heart ; a worshipper of Bel whose 
might upon 

thy great deity is founded, and thou makest righteous his 
life, valiant, warrior, who in the service of Assur his Lord 
hath proceeded, and among the Kings 

of the four regions who has not his fellow, a Prince for 
admiration, not sparing opponents, mighty leader, who an 
equal 

has not, a Prince reducing to order his disobedient ones, 
who has subdued whole multitudes of men, a strong worker, 
treading down 

the heads of his enemies, trampling on all foes, crushing 
assemblages of rebels, who in the service of the great gods 
his Lords 

marched vigorously and the lands of all of them his hand 
captured, caused the forests of all of them to fall,? and re- 
ceived their tribute, taking 
securities, establishing laws over all lands, when Assur the 
Lord who proclaims my name and augments my Royalty 
laid hold upon his invincible power for the forces of my 
Lordship, for Assur-nasir-pal, glorious Prince, worshipper 
of the great gods . 

the generous, the great, the powerful, acquirer of cities and 
forests and the territory of all of them, King of Lords, de- 
stroying the wicked, strengthening 

the peaceful, not sparing opponents, a Prince of firm will( ?) 
one who combats oppression, Lord of all Kings, 


1 Probably the Dagon of Scripture. _ 
2 Compare the boast in Isaiah xxxvii. 24, ‘“ I cut down the tall cedars.” 


168 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


21 Lord of Lords, the acknowledged, King of Kings, seated 
gloriously, the renown of Ninip the warrior, worshipper of 
the great gods, prolonging the benefits (conferred by) his 
fathers : 

22 a Prince who in the service of Assur and the Sun-god, the 
gods in whom he trusted, royally marched to turbulent lands, 
and Kings who had rebelled against him 

23 he cut off like grass, all their lands to his feet he subjected, 
restorer of the worship of the goddesses and that of the 
great gods, 

24 Chief unwavering, who for the guidance of the heads (and) 
elders of his land is a steadfast guardian, the work of whose 
hands and 

25 the gift of whose finger the great gods of heaven and earth 
have exalted, and his steps* over rulers have they estab- 
lished forever ; 

26 their power for the preservation of my Royalty have they 
exercised ; the retribution of his power, (and) the approach 
of His Majesty over Princes 

27 of the four regions they have extended : the enemies of Assur 
in all their country, the upper and the lower I chastised, and 
tribute and impost 

28 upon them I established, capturing the enemies of Assur— 
mighty King, King of Assyria, son of Tuklat-Adar who all 
his enemies 

29 has scattered; (who) in the dust threw down the corpses of 
his enemies, the grandson of Bin-nirari, the servant of the 
great gods, 

30 who crucified alive and routed his enemies and subdued 
them to his yoke, descendant of Assur-dan-il, who the 
fortresses 

31 established (and) the fanes made good. In those days by 
the decree * of the great gods to royalty power supremacy 
I rose up: 

32 Tama King, I am a Lord, I am glorious, I am great, I am 
mighty, I have arisen, I am Chief, I am a Prince, lama 
warrior 

33 1 am great and I am glorious, Assur-nasir-habal, a mighty 


®Goings. Cf. Ps. xl. 2, ‘‘He hath established my goings.”’ 
* Mouth. ¢ 


ANNALS OF ASSUR-NASIR-PAL 169 


King of Assyria, proclaimer of the Moon-god, worshipper 
of Anu, exalter of Yav,° suppliant of the gods 

34 am I, servant unyielding, subduing the land of his foeman, 
a King mighty in battle, destroyer of cities and forests, 

35 Chief over opponents, King of the four regions, expeller of 
his foes, prostrating all his enemies, Prince of a multitude 
of lands of all Kings 

36 Even of all, a Prince subduing those disobedient to him, 
who is ruling all the multitudes of men. These aspirations 
to the face of the great gods 

37 have gone up; on my destiny steadfastly have they deter- 
mined; at the wishes of my heart and the uplifting of my 
hand, Istar, exalted Lady, 

38 hath favored me in my intentions, and to the conduct of 
(my) battles and warfare hath applied her heart. In those 
days I Assur-nasir-pal, glorious Prince, worshipper of the 
great gods 

39 the wishes of whose heart Bel will cause him to attain, and 
who has conquered all Kings who disobey him, and by his 
hand capturing 

40 his enemies, who in difficult places has beaten down assem- 
blages of rebels; when Assur, mighty Lord, proclaimer of 
my name 

41 aggrandizer of my royalty over the Kings of the four 
regions, bountifully hath added his invincible power to the 
forces of my government, 

42 putting me in possession of lands, and mighty forests for 
exploration hath he given and urgently impelled me—by the 
might of Assur my Lord, 

43 perplexed paths, difficult mountains by the impetuosity of 
my hosts I traversed, and an equal there was not. In the 
beginning of my reign 

44 (and) in my first campaign when the Sun-god guider of 
the lands threw over me his beneficent protection® on the 
throne of my dominion I firmly seated myself; a sceptre 

45 the dread of man into my hands I took; my chariots (and) 
armies I collected; rugged paths, difficult mountains, which 
for the passage 


5 The god Yav may be the Yaveh of *Or, shade. This may refer to the 
the Moabite stone. eclipse of July 13, 885 B.c. 


170 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


46 of chariots and armies was not suited I passed, and to the 
land of Nairi* I went: Libie, their capital city, the cities 
Zurra and Abuqu 

47 Arura Arubie, situated within the limits of the land of 
Aruni and Etini, fortified cities, I took, their fighting-men 

48 in numbers I slew; their spoil, their wealth, their cattle I 
spoiled ; their soldiers were discouraged; they took posses- 
sion of a difficult mountain, a mountain exceedingly difficult ; 
after them 

49 I did not proceed, for it was a mountain ascending up like 
lofty points of iron, and the beautiful birds of heaven had 
not reached up into it: like nests 

50 of the young birds in the midst of the mountain their defence 
they placed, into which none of the Kings my fathers had 
ever penetrated: in three days 

51 successfully on one large mountain, his courage vanquished 
opposition: along the feet of that mountain I crept and hid: 
their nests, their tents, 

52 I broke up; 200 of their warriors with weapons I destroyed; 
their spoil in abundance like the young of sheep I carried off ; 

53 their corpses like rubbish on the mountains I heaped up; 
their relics in tangled hollows of the mountains I consumed ; 
their cities 

54 I overthrew, I demolished, in fire I burned: from the land 
of Nummi to the land of Kirruri I came down; the tribute 
of Kirruri 

55 of the territory of Zimizi, Zimira, Ulmanya, Adavas, Kargai, 
Harmasai, horses,® (fish (?). 

56 oxen, horned sheep in numbers, copper, as their tribute I 
received: an officer to guard boundaries® over them I placed. 
While in the land of Kirruri 

57 they detained me, the fear of Assur my Lord overwhelmed 
the lands of Gilzanai and Khubuskai; horses, silver 

58 gold, tin, copper, kams of copper as their tribute they brought 
to me. From the land of Kirruri I withdrew; 

59 to a territory close by the town Khulun in Gilhi?® Bitani 
I passed: the cities of Khatu, Khalaru, Nistun, Irbidi, 

™A federation of States north and This looks as if the Assyrians obtained 
northeast of Assyria at the head of the the horse from some Eastern land. 
fuphrates. In Tig. iv. 7, 33 of their ® Or, a viceroy. 


kin Ss are mentione d. 10 A mountainous country near the 
iterally, ‘“‘animals of the East.” upper Tigris, possibly Kurdistan. 


60 
61 


62 


63 
64 


65 


66 


67 
68 


69 


7O 


71 
72 
43 


74 


ANNALS OF ASSUR-NASIR-PAL 171 


Mitkie, Arzanie, Zila, Khalue, cities of Gilhi situated in the 
environs of Uzie and Arue 

and Arardi powerful lands, I occupied: their soldiers in 
numbers I slew; their spoil, their riches I carried off ; 
their soldiers were discouraged ; the summits projecting over 
against the city of Nistun which were menacing like the 
storms of heaven, I captured ; 

into which no one among the Princes my sires had ever pen- 
etrated ; my soldiers like birds (of prey) rushed upon them ; 
260 of their warriors by the sword I smote down; their 
heads cut off in heaps I arranged; the rest of them like birds 
in a nest, in the rocks of the mountains nestled; their spoil, 
their riches from the midst of the mountains I brought 
down; cities which were in the midst 

of vast forests situated I overthrew, destroyed, burned in 
fire; the rebellious soldiers fled from before my arms; they 
came down; my yoke 

they received ; impost tribute and a Viceroy I set over them. 
Bubu son of Bubua son of the Prefect of Nistun 

in the city of Arbela I flayed; his skin I stretched in con- 
tempt upon the wall. At that time an image of my person 
I made; a history of my supremacy 
upon it | wrote, and (on) a mountain of the land of Ikin( ?) 
in the city of Assur-nasir-pal at the foot I erected (it). In 
my own eponym in the month of July? and the 24th day 
(probably B.c. 882). 

in honor of Assur and Istar the great gods my Lords, I 
quitted the city of Nineveh: to cities situated below Nipur 
and Pazate powerful countries 

I proceeded; Atkun, Nithu, Pilazi and 20 other cities in 
their environs I captured ; many of their soldiers I slew; 
their spoil, their riches I carried off ; the cities I burned with 
fire ; the rebel soldiers fled from before my arms, submitted, 
and took my yoke; I left them in possession of their land. 
From the cities below Nipur and Pazate I withdrew; the 
Tigris I passed ; 

to the land of Commagene I[ approached ; the tribute of Com- 
magene and of the Moschi? in kams of copper, sheep and 
goats I received ; while in Commagene 

The Hebrew month Ab. 2In the text, “ Kummuhi” and ‘ Muski.” 


172 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


75 I was stationed, they brought me intelligence that the city 
Suri in Bit-Khalupe had revolted. The people of Hamath 
had slain their governor 

76 Ahiyababa the son of Lamamana* they brought from Bit- 
Adini and made him their King. By help of Assur and 
Yav 

77 the great gods who aggrandize my royalty, chariots, (and) 
an army, I collected: the banks of the Chaboras* I occupied ; 
in my passage tribute 

78 in abundance from Salman-haman-ilin of the city of Sadi- 
kannai and of Il-yav of the city of Sunai,® silver, gold, 

79 tin, kam of copper, vestments of wool, vestments of linen I 
received. To Suri which is in Bit-Halupe I drew near; 

80 the fear of the approach of Assur my Lord overwhelmed 
them; the great men and the multitudes of the city, for the 
saving of their lives, coming up after me,° 

81 submitted to my yoke; some slain, some living, some tongue- 
less I made: Ahiyababa son of Lamamana 

82 whom from Bit-Adini they had fetched, I captured; in the 
valor of my heart and the steadfastness of my soldiers I be- 
sieged the city; the soldiers, rebels all, 

83 were taken prisoners; the nobles to the principal palace of 
his land I caused to send; his silver, his gold, his treasure, 
his riches, copper 

84 (?)tin, Rams, tabham, hariati of copper, choice copper in 
abundance, alabaster and iron-stone of large size 

85 the treasures of his harem, his daughters and the wives of 
the rebels with their treasures, and the gods with their 
treasures, 

86 precious stones of the land of . . . , his swift chariot, 
his horses, the harness, his chariot-yoke, trappings for 
horses, coverings for men, 

87 vestments of wool, vestments of linen, handsome altars of 
cedar, handsome . . . ,_ bowls of cedar-wood 

88 beautiful black coverings, beautiful purple coverings, car- 
pets, his oxen, his sheep, his abundant spoil, which like the 
stars of heaven could not be reckoned, 


*Dr. Hincks was of opinion that the Chebar mentioned in the Prophet 
Lamaman meant “ nobody ”’; and that Ezekiel. Schultens, however (in his 
“Son of Lamaman’” was a delicate | Geogr.), mentions another Chaboras 
way of indicating a man of low origin. | which flows into the Tigris. 

Norr. Dict., p._ 690. } 5 In the north of Mesopotamia. 
¢ Assyrian, ‘‘ Khabur.”” This may be * Literally, to my back. 


ANNALS OF ASSUR-NASIR-PAL 173 


89 I carried off; Aziel as my lieutenant over them I placed; a 
trophy along the length of the great gate I erected: the re- 
bellious nobles 

go who had revolted against me and whose skins I had stripped 
off, I made into a trophy: some in the middle of the pile 
I left to decay ; some on the top 

gi of the pile on stakes I impaled; some by the side of the pile 
I placed in order on stakes; many within view of my land 

g2 I flayed; their skins on the walls I arranged; of the officers 
of the King’s officer, rebels, the limbs I cut off; 

93 I brought Ahiyababa to Nineveh; I flayed,’ him and fastened 
his skin to the wall; laws and edicts 

94 over Lakie I established. While I was staying in Suri the 
tribute of the Princes of Lakie throughout the whole of 
them, 

95 silver, gold, tin, copper, kam of copper, oxen, sheep, vest- 
ments of wool and linen, as tribute 

96 and gift, I defined and imposed upon them. In those days, 
the tribute of Khayani of the city of Hindanai, silver, 

97 gold, tin, copper, amu-stone, alabaster blocks, beautiful 
black (and) lustrous coverings I received as tribute from 
him. In those days an enlarged image 

98 of my Royalty I made; edicts and decrees upon it I wrote; 
in the midst of his palace I put it up; of stone my tablets 
I made; 

99 the decrees of my throne upon it I wrote; in the great gate 
I fixed them, in the date of this year which takes its name 
from me, in honor of Assur my Lord and Ninip who uplifts 
my feet.® 

100 Whereas in the times of the Kings my fathers no man 
of Suhi to Assyria had ever come, Il-bani Prince of Suhi 
together with his soldiers 

101 (and) his son, silver, gold as his tribute to Nineveh in 
abundance brought: in my own eponym?® at the city of Nin- 
eveh I stayed: news 

102 they brought me that men of the land of Assyria, (and) 
Hulai the governor of their city which Shalmaneser King 
of Assyria my predecessor 

™ Compare 2 Macc. vii. 7 for a some- 8 Compare Ps. Ixxiv. 3, “ Lift up thy 


what similar proceeding, The custom feet,” etc. 
may also be alluded to in Mic. iii, 3. * About 882 B.C, 


174 - CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


103 to the city of Hasiluha had united, had revolted: Danda- 
musa?° a city of my dominion marched out to subdue 
(them) ; . 

104 in honor of Assur, the Sun-god and Yav, the gods in whom 
I trust, my chariots and army I collected at the head of the 
river Zupnat, the place of an image 

105 which Tiglath-Pileser and Tiglath-Adar, Kings of Assyria 
my fathers had raised; an image of My Majesty I con- 
structed and put up with theirs. 

106 In those days I renewed the tribute of the land of Izala, 
oxen, sheep, goats: to the land of Kasyari* I proceeded, 
and to Kinabu 

107 the fortified city of the province of Hulai. I drew near; 
with the impetuosity of my formidable attack I besieged and 
took the town; 600 of their fighting men 

108 with (my) arms I destroyed; 3,000 of their captives I con- 
signed to the flames; as hostages I left not one of them alive ; 
Hulai 

109 the governor of their town I captured by (my) hand alive; 
their corpses into piles I built; their boys and maidens I 
dishonored ; 

110 Hulai the governor of their city I flayed: his skin on the 
walls of Damdamusa I placed in contempt; the city I over- 
threw demolished, burned with fire; 

111. the city of Mariru within their territory I took; 50 warrior 
fighting men by (my) weapons I destroyed ; 200 of their cap- 
tives in the flame I burned; 

112 the soldiers of the land of Nirbi I slew in fight in the 
desert ; their spoil, their oxen, their sheep, I brought away; 
Nirbu which is at the foot of mount Ukhira 

113 I boldly took; I then passed over to Tila their fortified city ; 
from Kinabu I withdrew; to Tila I drew near; 

114 a strong city with three forts facing each other: the sol- 
diers to their strong forts and numerous army trusted and 
would not submit; 

115 my yoke they would not accept; (then,) with onset and 
attack I besieged the city; their fighting men with my 
weapons I destroyed; of their spoil, 


10 Near the modern Diarbekir, on the 1In Armenia near the sources of the 
road to the sources of the Supnat. Tigris. 


ANNALS OF ASSUR-NASIR-PAL 175 


116 their riches, oxen and sheep, I made plunder; much booty 
I burned with fire; many soldiers I captured alive ; 

117 of some I chopped off the hands and feet; of others the 
noses and ears I cut off; of many soldiers I destroyed the 
eyes ;? 

118 one pile of bodies while yet alive, and one of heads I reared 
up on the heights within their town; their heads in the midst 
I hoisted; their boys 

(Continued on Column I1.) 


CoLumMNnN II 


m and their maidens I dishonored, the city I overthrew, razed 
and burned with fire, 

In those days the cities of the land of Nirbi 

2 (and) their strong fortresses, I overthrew, demolished, 
burned with fire: from Nirbi I withdrew and to the city 
Tuskha 

3 I approached; the city of Tuskha I again occupied; its 
old fort I threw down: its place I prepared, its dimensions 
I took; a new castle 

4 from its foundation to its roof I built, I completed, I reared: 
a palace for the residence of My Royalty with doors of iki 
wood I made; 

5 a palace of brick from its foundations to its roof I made, I 
completed: a complete image of my person of polished 
stone I made; the history 

6 of my surpassing nation and an account of my conquests 
which in the country of Nairi I had accomplished I wrote 
upon it; in the city of Tuskha 

7 I raised it; on suitable stone I wrote and upon the wall I 
fixed it; (then) the men of Assyria, those who from the pri- 
vation of food to various countries 

8 And to Rurie had gone up, to Tuskha I brought back and 
settled there: that city to myself 

ment of children as recorded in Joshua 


xi. 14 with what we read in line 118. 
Horrible and ferocious as was the treat- 


2Thus in 2 Kings xXXv. 7 we read 
that the Chaldees “‘ put out the eyes 
of Zedekiah.”’ Samson (Judges xvi. 21) 


was similarly treated. And the custom 


- may be alluded to in Num. xvi. 14. 


It may be well to compare the treat- 


ment of the conquered by the Israel- 
ites, they at least on that occasion were 
content with enslaving the children. 


176 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


g I took; the wheats and barleys of Nirbi I accumulated in 
it; the populace of Nirbi who before my arms had fled, 

10 returned and accepted my yoke; of their towns, their Vice- 
roys, their many convenient houses I took possession ; im- 
post and tribute, horses, 

11 horses for the yoke, fish, oxen, sheep, goats in addition to 
what I had before settled, I imposed upon them; their 
youths as hostages 

12 I took. While I was staying in Tuskha, I received the 
tribute of Ammibaal son of Zamani, of Anhiti of the land 
of Rurie 

13 of Labduri son of Dubuzi of the land of Nirdun and the 
tribute of the land of Urumi-sa Bitani, of the Princes of 
the land of Nairi, 

14 chariots, horses, horses for the yoke, tin, silver, gold, kam 
of copper, oxen, sheep, goats. 

15 Over the land of Nairi I established a viceroy: (but) on 
my return the land of Nairi, and Nirbu which is in 

16 the land of Kasyari, revolted; nine of their cities leagued 
themselves with Ispilipri one of their fortified towns and 
to a mountain difficult of access 

17 they trusted; but the heights of the hill I besieged and 
took; in the midst of the strong mountain their fighting 
men I slew; their corpses like rubbish on the hills 

18 I piled up; their common people in the tangled hollows of 
the mountains I consumed; their spoil, their property I 
carried off; the heads of their soldiers 

19 I cut off; a pile (of them) in the highest part of the city I 
built ; their boys and maidens I dishonored; to the environs 
of the city Buliyani 

20 I passed; the banks of the river Lukia* I took possession 
of; in my passage I occupied the towns of the land of 
Kirhi hard by; many of their warriors 

21 I slew; their spoil I spoiled; their cities with fire I burned: 
to the city of Ardupati I went. In those days the tribute 

22 of Ahiramu son of Yahiru of the land of Nilaai son of Ba- 
hiani of the land of the Hittites ? and of the Princes of the 
land of Hanirabi, silver, gold, _ 

1 Probably the Lycus or upper Zab. “Syrians,” including the northern 


The term “ Hittites” is used in a parts of Palestine. 
large sense, as the equivalent of 


ANNALS OF ASSUR-NASIR-PAL 177 


23 tin, kam of copper, oxen, sheep, horses, as their tribute I 
received; in the eponym of Assuridin*® they brought me 
intelligence that 

24 Zab-yav Prince of the land of Dagara had revolted. The 
land of Zamua throughout its whole extent he boldly 
seized; near the city of Babite 

25 they constructed a fort; for combat and battle they 
marched forth: in the service of Assur, the great god my 
Lord and the great Merodach 

26 going before me,* by the powerful aid which the Lord 
Assur extended to my people, my servants and my soldiers 
I called together ; to the vicinity 

27 of Babite I marched: the soldiers to the valor of their army 
trusted and gave battle: but in the mighty force of the 
great Merodach going before me 

28 I engaged in battle with them; I effected their overthrow ; 
I broke them down; 1,460 of their warriors in the environs 

29 I slew; Uzie, Birata, and Lagalaga, their strong towns, 
with 100 towns within their territory I captured; 

30 their spoil, their youths, their oxen, and sheep I carried 
off; Zab-yav for the preservation of his life, a rugged 
mountain 

31 ascended; 1,200 of their soldiers I carried off; from the 
land of Dagara I withdrew; to the city of Bara I ap- 
proached ; the city of Bara 

32 I captured; 320 of their soldiers by my weapons I de- 
stroyed; their oxen, sheep, and spoil in abundance I re- 
moved ; 

33 300 of their soldiers I took off; on Tasritu® 15th from the 
town Kalzi I withdrew, and came to the environs of Ba- 
bite ; 

34 from Babite I withdrew; to the land of Nizir which they 
call Luilu-Kinaba I drew near; the city Bunasi one of their 
fortified cities 

35 belonging to Musazina and 20 cities of their environs I 
captured ; the soldiers were discouraged ; they took posses- 
sion of a mountain difficult of access; I, Assur-nasir-pal 
impetuously after them 


® About 881 B.C. 5 Corresponding to the Jewish month 
*A scriptural phrase of frequent oc- Tisri, and to part of our September, 
currence. _ called in Accadian ‘“‘ the Holy Altar.” 


12 


178 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


36 like birds swooped down; their corpses lay thick on the 
hills of Nizir; 326 of their warriors I smote down; his 
horses I exacted of him, 

37 their common people in the tangled hollows I consumed; 
seven cities in Nizir, which were of their duly appointed 
fortresses I captured; their soldiers 

38 I slew; their spoil, their riches, their oxen, their sheep I 
carried off; the. cities themselves I burned; to these my 
tents I returned to halt; 

39 from those same tents I departed; to cities of the land of 
Nizir whose place no one had ever seen I marched; the city 
of Larbusa 

40 the fortified city of Kirtiara and 8 cities of their territory 
I captured; the soldiers lost heart and took to a steep 
mountain, a mountain (which) like sharp iron stakes 

41 rose high upward; as for his soldiers, I ascended after them ; 
in the midst of the mountain I scattered their corpses ; 172 
of their men I slew; soldiers 

42 in numbers in the hollows of the mountain I hunted down; 
their spoil, their cattle, their sheep, I took away; their 
cities with fire 

43 I burned; their heads on the high places of the mountain 
I lifted up; *® their boys and maidens I dishonored; to the 
tents aforesaid I returned to halt; 

44 from those same tents I withdrew; 150 cities of the terri- 
tory of Larbusai, Durlulumai, Bunisai and Barai I cap- 
tured ; 

45 their fighting men I slew; their spoil I spoiled; the city of 
Hasabtal I razed (and) burned with fire; 50 soldiers of 
Barai I slew in battle on the plain. 

46 In those days the Princes of the entire land of Zamua were 
overwhelmed by the dread of the advance of Assur my 
Lord and submitted to my yoke; horses, silver, gold, 

47 I received; the entire land under a Prefect I placed; horses, 
silver, gold, wheat, barley, submission, I imposed upon 
them 

48 from the city of Tuklat-assur-azbat I withdrew; the land 
of Nispi accepted my yoke; I went down all night ; to cities 
of remote site in the midst of Nispi 


® Cf. Gen. xi. 19, “‘ Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head 
from off thee.” 


ANNALS OF ASSUR-NASIR-PAL 179 


49 which Zab-yav had established as his stronghold I went, 
took the city of Birutu and consigned it to the flames. 

In the eponym of Damiktiya-tuklat, when I was sta- 
tioned at Nineveh, they brough me news? 

50 that Amaka, and Arastua withheld the tribute and vas- 
salage due to Assur my Lord. In honor of Assur mighty 
Lord and Merodach the great going before me, 

51 on the first of May * I prepared for the third time an ex- 
pedition against Zamua: my fighting men® before the 
many chariots I did not consider: from Kalzi I withdrew; 
the lower Zab 

52 I passed; to the vicinity of Babite I proceeded; the river 
Radanu at the foot of the mountains of Zima, my birth- 
place, I approached ; oxen, 

53 sheep, goats, as the tribute of Dagara I received: near 
Zimaki I added my strong chariots and battering rams as 
chief of warlike implements to my magazines; by night 

54 and daybreak I went down; the Turnat in rafts I crossed; 
to Amali the strong city of Arastu I approached ; 

55 with vigorous assault the city I besieged and took; 800 
of their fighting men I destroyed by my weapons; I filled 
the streets of their city with their corpses; _ 

56 their many houses I burned; many soldiers I took alive; 
their spoil in abundance I carried off; the city I overthrew 
razed and burnt with fire; the city Khudun 

57 and 20 cities in its environs I took; their soldiers I slew; 
their booty in cattle and sheep I carried off; their cities I 
overthrew razed and burned; their boys 

58 their maidens I dishonored; the city of Kisirtu a fortified 
city of Zabini with 1o neighboring cities I took; their sol- 
diers I slew; their spoil 

59 I carried off; the cities of Barai and Kirtiara, Bunisai to- 
gether with the province of Khasmar I overthrew razed and 
burned with fire; 

60 I reduced the boundaries to a heap, and then from the 
cities of Arastua I withdrew: to the neighborhood of the 
territory of Laara and Bidirgi, rugged land, which for the 
passage 

61 of chariots and an army was not adapted, I passed; to the 


7 About 880 B.c. 4The Hebrew Sivan. *TI.e., in comparison with. 


180 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


royal city Zamri of Amika of Zamua I drew near; Amika 
from before the mighty prowess of my formidable at- 
tack 

62 fled in fear and took refuge on a hill difficult of access: I 
brought forth the treasures of his palace and his chariot; 
from Zamri I withdrew and passed the river Lallu and to 
the mountains of Etini, 

63 difficult ground, unfit for the passage of chariots and 
armies, whither none of the Princes my sires had ever pene- 
trated; I marched in pursuit of his army on the mountains 
of Etini: 

64 the hill I ascended: his treasure, his rie.ies, vessels of cop- 
per, abundance of copper, kam of copper, bowls of copper, 
pitchers of copper, the treasures of his palace and of his 
storehouses, 

65 from within the mountains I took away to my camp and 
made a halt: by the aid of Assur and the Sun-god, the gods 
in whom I trust, from that camp I withdrew and proceeded 
on my march; 

66 the river Edir I passed on the confines of Soua and Elaniu, 
powerful lands; their soldiers I slew in numbers; their 
treasure, their riches, am *° of copper, 

67 kam of copper, saplt and namziete of copper, vessels of cop- 
per in abundance, pdsur wood, gold and ahzi, their oxen, 
sheep, riches, 

68 his abundant spoil, from below the mountains of Elani, his 
horses, I exacted from him: Amika for the saving of his 
life to the land of Sabue went up; 

69 the cities Zamru, Arazitku, Amaru, Parsindu, Eritu, Zuritu 
his fortified city, with 150 cities 

70 of his territory I overthrew, razed, burned; the boundary 
I reduced to a heap. 

While in the vicinity of Parsindi I was stationed, the war- 
like engines of the tribe of Kallabu 

71 came forth against the place; 150 of the fighting men of 
Amika I slew in the plain; their heads I cut off and put 
them up on the heights of his palace; 

72 200 of his soldiers taken by (my) hands alive I left to rot 


10** Am” may be the name of some weight, or figure; v. Norr. Assyr. Dict. 
pp. 127 and 720. 


73 


“8 


76 


77 


78 


Aa 


80 


81 


82 


83 


ANNALS OF ASSUR-NASIR-PAL 181 


on the wall of his palace:1 from Zamri the battering-rams 
and . . . my banners | made ready; 

to the fortress Ata, of Arzizai, whither none of the Kings 
my sires had ever penetrated I marched: the cities of Ar- 
zizu, and Arzindu 

his fortified city, with ten cities situated in their environs 
in the midst of Nispi a rugged country, I captured; their 
soldiers I slew the cities I overthrew razed and burned with 
fire: 

to those my tents I returned. In those days I received cop- 
per, tabbili of copper, kanmate of copper, and sariete as the 
tribute of the land of Siparmina, such as women 

collect: from the city of Zamri 1 withdrew; to Lara, (the 
rugged hill-country, unfitted for the passage of chariots and 
armies, with instruments [axes] of iron I cut through and 
with rollers of metal I beat down) with the chariots and 
troops I brought over to the city of Tiglath-assur-azbat in 
the land of Lulu—the city of Arakdi they call it—I went 
down; 

the Kings of Zamue, the whole of them, from before the 
impetuosity of my servants and the greatness of my power 
drew back and accepted my yoke; tribute of silver, gold, 
tin, 

copper, kam of copper, vestments of wool, horses, oxen, 
sheep, goats, in addition to what I had before settled, I im- 
posed upon them; a Viceroy 

in Kalach I created. While in the land of Zamue I was 
stationed the cities Khudunai, Khartisai, Khutiskai Kir- 
zanal 

were overwhelmed by fear of the advance of Assur my 
Lord; impost, tribute, silver, gold, horses, vestments of 
wool, oxen, sheep, goats, they brought to me; the rebel 
soldiers 

fled from before my arms; they fled to the mountains; I 
marched after them; within confines of the land of Aziru 
they settled and got ready the city of Mizu as their strong 
place ; 

the land of Aziru I overthrew and destroyed; from Zimaki 


1 Menant renders, “ j’ai fait etouffer dans le mur.” 


182 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


as far as the Turnat I scattered their corpses; 500 of their 
fighting men I destroyed; 

84 their spoil in abundance I carried off. 

In those days in the land of Samua, (in which is) the 
city of Atlila which Zibir King of Kardunias had taken, 
devastated, 

85 and reduced to a heap of ruins, I Assur-nasir-pal King of 
Assyria took, after laying siege to its castle a second time; 
the palace as a residence for My Majesty I therein strength- 
ened, made princely and enlarged beyond what of old was 
planned ; 

86 the wheat and barleys of the land of Kalibi I accumulated 
therein; I gave it the name of Dur-Assur. 

On the first of May in the eponym of Sanmapakid? I 
collected my chariots and soldiers 

87 the Tigris I crossed; to the land of Commagene I passed 
on; I inaugurated a palace in the city of Tiluli; the tribute 
due from Commagene I received; from Commagene I 
withdrew; | 

88 I passed on to the land of the Istarat;* in the city of Ki- 
baki I halted; from Kibaki I received oxen, sheep, goats, 
and copper; from Kibaki I withdrew; 

89 to the city of Mattyati I drew nigh; I took possession of 
the land of Yatu with the town Kapranisa; 2,800 of their 
fighting men I smote down with my weapons; their spoil 
in abundance I carried off ; 

go the rebels who had fled from before my arms now accepted 
my yoke; of their cities I left them in possession; tribute 
impost and an officer * over them I set; 

QI an image of my person I made; collected laws I wrote upon 
it and in the city of Mattiyati I placed it; from Mattiyati 1 
withdrew; at the city of Zazabuka 

92 I halted; the tribute of Calach in oxen, sheep, goats and 
various copper articles I received; from Zazabuka I with- 
drew; 

93 at the city of Irzia I made a halt; that city I burned; but 
received there the tributes due from Zura in oxen, sheep, 
goats and kam copper: 


2 About 879 B.c. 8 Goddesses. * Urasi. 


94 


95 


96 


97 


98 


99 


100 


Io! 


102 


103 


104 


105 


ANNALS OF ASSUR-NASIR-PAL 183 


from Izria I withdrew; in the land of Kasyari I halted; 
Madara (and) Anzi two cities of the territory I captured 
and slew their soldiers ; 

their spoil I carried off; the cities I burned with fire; six 
lakes I crossed over in Kasyari, a rugged highland for the 
passage of chariots and an army 

unsuited ; (the hills with instruments of iron I cut through 
[and] with rollers of metal I beat down;) the chariots and 
army I brought over. In a city of Assur® on the sandy 
side which is in Kasyari, 

oxen, sheep, goats kam and gurpisi of copper I received; 
by the land of Kasyari I proceeded; a second time to the 
land of Nairi I went down; at the city of Sigisa 

I made a halt; from Sigisa | withdrew; to Madara the 
fortified city of Labduri the son of Dubisi I drew near, a 
city extremely strong with four impregnable castles ; 

the city I besieged; they quailed before my mighty 
prowess; I received, for the preservation of their lives, 
their treasures, their riches, their sons, by tale; I imposed 
upon them 

tribute and duties; an officer ® I appointed over them; the 
city I demolished, razed, and reduced to a heap of ruins; 
from Madara I withdrew; to Tuskha 

I passed over; a palace in Tuskha I dedicated ; the tribute 
of the land of Nirdun, horses, yoke-horses, fish, kam of 
copper, gurpisi of copper, oxen, sheep, 

goats, in Tuskha I received; 60 cities and strong cas- 
tles below Kasyari, belonging to Labduri son of Dubuzi 
I overthrew razed and converted to a heap of ruins. 

In the service of Assur my Lord from Tuskha I with- 
drew. The powerful chariots and battering-rams I put 
up in my stores; on rafts 

I passed the Tigris; all night I descended; to Pitura a 
strong town of Dirrai I drew near—a very strong city— 
two forts facing each other, whose castle like the sum- 
mit of a mountain stood up: by the mighty hands of 
Assur my Lord and the impetuosity of my army and my 
formidable attack 


® Or, ‘* Assur-sidi-huli’’ may be taken as the name of the town. 
@* Urasi "(?). 


184 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


106 I gave them battle; on two days before sunrise like Yav 
the inundator I rushed upon them; destruction upon them 
I rained with the might ? 

107 and prowess of my warriors; like the rush of birds coming 
upon them, the city I captured; 800 of their soldiers by 
my arms I destroyed ; their heads 

108 I cut off; many soldiers I captured in hand alive; their 
populace in the flames I burned; their spoil I carried off 
in abundance; a trophy of the living and of heads 

109 about his great gate I built ; * 700 soldiers I there impaled 
on stakes;® the city I overthrew, razed, and reduced to 
a heap of ruins all round; their boys, 

110 their maidens, I dishonored; the city of Kukunu ?° facing 
the mountains of Matni I captured; 700 of their fighting 
men I smote down with my weapons ; 

111 their spoil in abundance I carried off; 50 cities of Dira I 
occupied ; their soldiers I slew; I plundered them; 50 sol- 

‘diers I took alive; the cities I overthrew 

112 razed and burned; the approach of my Royalty overcame 
them; from Pitura I withdrew, and went down to Arbaki 
in Gilhi-Bitani; 

113 they quailed before the approach of my Majesty, and de- 
serted their towns and strong places: for the saving of 
their lives they went up to Matni a land of strength 

114 I went after them in pursuit; 1,000 of their warriors I left 
in the rugged hills; their corpses on a hill I piled up; 
with their bodies the tangled hollows 

115 of the mountains I filled; I captured 200 soldiers and cut 
off their hands; their spoil I carried away; their oxen, 
their sheep 

116 without number, I took away; Iyaya, Salaniba, strong 
cities of Arbaki I occupied ; the soldiers I slew; their spoil 
I carried off 

I17 250 towns surrounded with strong walls in the land of 
Nairi I overthrew demolished and reduced to heaps and 
ruins; the trees of their land I cut down; the wheat 

118 and barley in Tuskha I kept. Ammiba’al the son of 

essay! 4 God shall sain Cita tars} oped hing. ey ehrene neers mann aa 


him_while he is eating.” * Or, crosses. 
®Cf. 2 Kings x. 8, “Lay ye them 10 On the upper Tigris. 


ANNALS OF ASSUR-NASIR-PAL ' 185 


Zamani had been betrayed and slain by his nobles.t To 
revenge Ammiba’al 

119 I marched; from before the vehemence of my arms and 
the greatness of my Royalty 

120 they drew back: his swift chariots, trappings for men and 
horses one hundred in number, 

121 horses, harness, his yokes, tribute of silver and gold with 
100 talents 

122 in tin, 100 talents in copper, 300 talents in annui, 100 kam 
of copper, 3,000 kappi of copper, bowls of copper, vessels 
of copper, 

123 1,000 vestments of wool, nui wood, eru wood, zalmalli 
wood, horns, choice gold, 

124 the treasures of his palace, 2,000 oxen, 5,000 sheep, his 
wife, with large donations from her; the daughters 

125 of his chiefs with large donations from them I received. 
I, Assur-nasir-pal, great King, mighty King, King of le- 
gions, King of Assyria, 

126 son of Tuklat-Adar great and mighty King, King of 
legions, King of Assyria, noble warrior, in the strength of 
Assur his Lord walked, and whose equal among the 
Kings 

127 of the four regions exists not;* a King who from beyond 
the Tigris up to Lebanon and the Great Sea 

128 hath subjugated the land of Laki in its entirety, the land 
of Zuhi with the city of Ripaki: from the sources of 
the Ani 

129 (and) the Zupnat to the land bordering on Sabitan has he 
held in hand: the territory of Kirrouri with Kilzani on the 
other side the Lower Zab 

130 to Tul-Bari which is beyond the country of the Zab; be- 
yond the city of Tul-sa-Zabdani, Hirimu, Harute, the land 
of Birate 

131 and of Kardunias I annexed to the borders of my realm 
and on the broad territory of Nairi I laid fresh tribute. 
The city of Calach I took anew; the old mound 


2I follow Dr. Oppert in the_render- relations between Assyria, Pheenicia, 
ing of this obscure passage. Compare Syria, and Judea. , 
with Ammiba’al the name of the father 2 This frequently recurring expression 
of Bathsheba, which like many other refers to the four races of Syria. 
proper names is indicative of the close 


186 


132 


133 


134 


135 


4 


2 
6 


7 


CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


I threw down; to the top of the water I brought it; 120 
hand-breadths in depth I made it good; a temple to Ninip 
my Lord I therein founded ; when 

an image of Ninip himself which had not been made be- 
fore, in the reverence of my heart for his great mighty god- 
ship, of mountain stone and brilliant gold I caused to make 
in its completeness ; 

for my great divinity in the city of Calach I accounted 
him: his festivals in the months of January and Septem- 
ber ® I established: Bit-kursi which was unoccupied I 
closed : 

an altar to Ninip my Lord I therein consecrated: a tem- 
ple for Beltis, Sin, and Gulanu, Hea-Manna* and Yav 
great ruler of heaven and earth I founded. 


CoLtumn III 


On the 22d day of the third month, May,’ in the eponym 
of Dagan-bel-ussur,? I withdrew from Calach; I passed the 
Tigris at its nearer bank 

and received a large tribute ; at Tabite I made a halt; on the 
6th day of the fourth month, June,? I withdrew from 
Tabite and skirted the banks of Kharmis; 

at the town of Magarizi I made a halt; withdrew from it 
and passed along by the banks of the Chaboras and halted 
at Sadikanni; 

the tribute due from Sadikanni, silver, gold, tin, kam of 
copper, oxen, sheep, I received and quitted the place. 

At the city of Katni I made a halt; the tribute of Sunaya 
I received, and from Katni withdrew ; 

at Dar-Kumlimi * I halted; withdrew from it and halted at 
Bit-Halupe, whose tribute 

of silver, gold, tin, kam of copper, vestments of wool and 
linen, oxen and sheep I received, and withdrew from it; 


$‘* Tabita’’ (Heb. ‘‘ Tebeth’’) and (ib. vi. 38), and the titles first, second, 


* Tasritu\”’ (Heb: )** Tisri’”’). It)’ should third month, etc., were PIPES : 

be remarked that after the captivity 4 This name has also been read as 
the names of the months were ex- ‘* Nisroch-Salmon.”’ 

changed for the Chaldean; and the old 1 Sivan. 

Hebrew names, such as_ ‘ Abib” 2 878 B.C. 

(Exod: xiii. 4), ‘ Zif’? Kings. ‘vi. $’Heb. ‘‘ Tammuz,” Assyr. ‘“ Du- 
27), ** Ethanim,”’.. (ib. viii. 2),.** Bul ®?).) wazu.?’ 


* A city in Mesopotamia. 


15 


16 


17 


18 


19 


20 


21 


22 


ANNALS OF ASSUR-NASIR-PAL 187 


at the city of Zirki I made a halt; the tribute of Zirki, 
silver, gold, tin, oxen, 

sheep, I received; withdrew from Zirki; halted at Zupri, 
whose tribute 

of silver, gold, tin, kami, oxen, sheep, I received; with- 
drew from Zupri and halted at Nagarabani, 

whose tribute in silver, gold, tin, kami, oxen, sheep, I 
received and withdrew from it; 

near Khindani, situated on the nearer banks of the Eu- 
phrates I halted ; 

the tribute of Khindani, silver, gold, tin, kami, oxen, sheep, 
I received. From Khindani 

I withdrew ; at the mountains over against the Euphrates ° 
I halted; I withdrew from those mountains and halted at 
Bit-Sabaya near the town of Haridi 

situate on the nearer bank of the Euphrates. From Bit- 
Sabaya I withdrew; at the commencement of the town of 
Anat ° 

I made a halt. Anat is situated in the midst of the Eu- 
phrates. From Anat I withdrew. The city of Zuru the 
fortified city of 

Sadudu of the land of Zuhi I besieged: to the numerous 
warriors of the spacious land of the Kassi he trusted and 
to make war and battle to my presence advanced ; 

the city I besieged; two days I was engaged in fighting; I 
made good an entrance: (then) through fear? of my 
mighty arms Sadudu and his soldiers 

for the preservation of his life, into the Euphrates threw 
himself: I took the city; 50 bit-hallu ® and their soldiers 
in the service of Nabu-bal-idin King of Kardunias ; 
Zabdanu his brother with 300 of his soldiers and Bel-bal- 
idin who marched at the head of their armies I captured, 
together with them 

many soldiers | smote down with my weapons; silver, gold, 
tin, precious stone of the mountains,® the treasure of his 
palace, 

chariots, horses trained to the yoke, trappings for men and 
horses, the women of his palace, his spoil, 


6“ Burattu.”” In Hebrew (Gen. ii. 8 Probably military engines used in 
740 Etat.” sieges. 

® Dr. Oppert renders this ‘‘ Anatho.” * Or, sadi-stone shining. 

? Literally, “ from the face of,” 


188 


23 


24 


25 


26 


27 


28 


29 


30 


St 


32 


om: 


34 


35 


10 ¢ 


CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


in abundance I| carried off ; the city I pulled down and razed ; 
ordinances and edicts I imposed on Zuhi; the fear of my 
dominion to Kardunias reached ; 

the greatness of my arms overwhelmed Chaldza;*° on the 
countries of the banks of the Euphrates my impetuous 
soldiers I sent forth; an image 

of my person I made; decrees and edicts upon it I in- 
scribed; in Zuri I put it up, I Assur-nasir-pal, a King who 
has enforced his laws 

(and) decrees and who to the sword hath directed his face 
to conquests and alliances hath raised his heart. While 
I was stationed at Calach 

they brought me news that the population of Laqai and 
Khindanu of the whole land of Zukhi had revolted and 
crossed the Euphrates 

on the eighteenth of May? I withdrew from Calach, passed 
the Tigris, took the desert to Zuri 

by Bit-Halupi I approached in ships belonging to me which 
{ had taken at Zuri: I took my way to the sources of the 
Euphrates ; 

the narrows of the Euphrates I descended, the cities of 
Khintiel and Aziel in the land of Laqai I took; their soldiers 
I slew; their spoil 

I carried off; the cities I overthrew, razed, burned with 
fire. In my expedition marching westward of the banks of 
the Chaboras to ; 

the city Zibate of Zuhi, cities on the other side of the Eu- 
phrates in the land of Laqai I overthrew, devastated and 
burned with fire; their crops I seized 460 soldiers 

their fighting men by (my) weapons I destroyed; I took 
20 alive and impaled them on stakes;? on ships which I 
had built— 

in 20 ships which were drawn up on the sand at Haridi 
I crossed the Euphrates. The land of Zuhaya and Lagqai 
and the city of Khindanai* to the power of their chariots 


‘Kaldu.” There are fragments ex- But Dr. Oppert and Mr. Norris gen- 


isting in the British Museum of a erally adopt the rendering given in the 
treaty made between this Nabu-bal- text, I. 108, p. 194. 


aoe : 4 

idin, King of Kardunias (Babylonia), 3Jt will be observed that this city 

and Shalmaneser, son of Assur-nasir- is differently spelled in line a7. Irregu- 

pal. v. ‘‘ Trans, Soc. Bib. Archzol.,” i.77. _larities of this kind are very frequent, 
1 The Hebrew Sivan. especially in the termination of proper 


2 Literally, ‘‘impaled on _ stakes.” names, 


ANNALS OF ASSUR-NASIR-PAL 189 


armies and hands trusted and summoned 6,000 of their 
soldiers to engage in fight and battle. 


36 They came to close quarters; I fought with them; I 


37 


38 


39 


40 


AI 


42 


43 


45 


46 


effected their overthrow; I destroyed their chariots 6,500 
of their warriors | smote down by my weapons; the re; 
mainder 
in starvation in the desert of the Euphrates I shut up. 
From Haridi in Zukhi to Kipina and the cities of Khin- 
danai * 
in Laqai on the other side I occupied; their fighting men 
I slew; the city I overthrew razed and burned. Aziel of 
Laqai 
trusted to his forces and took possession of the heights 
of Kipina; I gave them battle; at the city of Kipina I 
effected his overthrow ; 1,000 of his warriors I slew; 
his chariots I destroyed; spoil I carried off in plenty; 
their gods I took away; for the preservation of his life he 
took refuge on a rugged hill of Bizuru at the sources of 
the Euphrates ; 
for two days I descended the river in pursuit: the relics 
of his army with my weapons I destroyed; their hiding 
place by the hills on the Euphrates I broke up; 
to the cities of Dumite and Azmt belonging to the son of 
Adini* I went down after him; his spoil, his oxen, his 
sheep, 
which like the stars of heaven were without number I 
carried off. 

In those days Ila of Laqai, his swift chariots and 500 
soldiers 
to my land of Assyria I transported; Dumutu and Azmu 
I captured, overthrew, razed and burned; in the narrows of 
the Euphrates I turned aside in my course and 
I outflanked Aziel, who fled before my mighty power to 
save his life. Ila, the Prince of Laqai, his army his chariots, 
his harness, 
I carried off and took to my city of Assur: Khimtiel of 
Laqai I made prisoner in his own city. Through the might 
of Assur my Lord, (and) in the presence of my mighty 
arms and the formidable attack 


® See note 3, p. 188. *“ Ahuni.” See 1. 61, p. 191. 


190 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


47 of my powerful forces he was afraid, and I received the 
treasures of his palaces, silver, gold, tin, copper, kam of 
copper, vestments of wool, his abundant spoil; and tribute 

48 and impost in addition to what I had previously fixed I laid 
upon them; in those days I slew 50 buffaloes in the neighbor- 
hood of the nearer side of the Euphrates: eight buffaloes 
I caught alive ; 

49 I killed 20 eagles, and captured others alive: I founded two 
cities on the Euphrates ; one on the farther bank 

50 of the Euphrates which I named Dur-Assur-nasir-pal; one 
on the nearer bank which I named Nibarti-Assur. On the 
20th of May® I withdrew from Calach; 

51 I crossed the Tigris; to the land of Bit-Adini I went; to 
their strong city of Katrabi I approached, a city exceedingly 
strong, like a storm rushing from heaven,’ 

52 the soldiers confided to their numerous troops, and would 
not submit and accept my yoke: in honor of Assur the great 
Lord, my Lord, and the god the great protector going be- 
fore me, I besieged the city 

53 by the warlike engines* on foot and strong, the city I 
captured ; many of their soldiers I slew; 900 of their fight- 
ing men I dispersed; their spoil and property I carried off, 
2,400 of their warriors 

54 I transported away and detained them at Calach; the city 
I overthrew razed and burnt; the fear of the approach of 
Assur my Lord over Bit-Adini I made good. 

55 In those days the tribute of Ahuni son of Adini of Habini, 
of the city of Tul-Abnai,® silver, gold, tin,!° copper, vest- 
ments of wool and linen, wood for bridges, 

56 cedar wood, the treasures of his palace I received; their 
hostages I took, rimutu 1 I imposed upon them 
In the month April? and on the eighth day I quitted 

Calach; the Tigris 

57 I passed; to Carchemish * in Syria I directed my steps; to 
Bit-Bakhiani I approached; the tribute due from the son ¢ 
of Bakhiani, swift chariots, horses, silver, 


®The Hebrew Sivan. 10 Or, lead. 

7 Or, ‘‘ as it were situated among the 1 Possibly ‘‘ humiliation,’ from the 
storm-clouds of heaven.” Chaldee ‘‘ rama.” 

®The nature of these engines 2 Airu 


(“ bilsi ”) is uncertain. ®Carchemish. Cf. Jeremiah xlvi. 2. 
® T.e., stony-hill. * Tribe(?). 


ANNALS OF ASSUR-NASIR-PAL Ig! 


58 gold, tin, copper, kami of copper, I received; the chariots 
and warlike engines of the officer of the son of Bakhiani I 
added to my magazines ; 

59 I menaced the land of Anili: the tribute of Hu-immi of 
Nilaya, swift war chariots, horses, silver, gold, tin,® copper, 

60 kami of copper, oxen, sheep, horses, I received ; the chariots 
and warlike instruments of the officer I added to my 
magazines. From Anili I withdrew; to Bit-Adini I ap- 
proached ; 

61 the tribute of Ahuni son of Adini, silver, gold, tin,® copper, 
wood of ereru, and rabaz, horns, sai-wood, horns °® 

62 of thrones horns of silver, and gold, sari, bracelets of gold, 
sahri fastenings for covers of gold, scabbards of gold, oxen, 
sheep, goats as his tribute I received; 

63 the chariots and warlike engines of the officer of Ahuni I 
added to my magazines. In those days I received the trib- 
ute of Habini of Tul-Abnai, four maneh of silver and 400 
sheep ; 

64 ten maneh of silver for his first year as tribute I imposed 
upon him: from Bit-Adini I withdrew; the Euphrates, in a 
difficult part of it, I crossed in ships of hardened skins: 

65 I approached the land of Carchemish: the tribute of Sangara 
King of Syria, twenty talents of silver, sahri gold, bracelets 
of gold, scabbards of gold, 100 talents 

66 of copper, 250 talents of annui kam, hariate, nirmakate 
kibtl* of copper, the extensive furniture of his palace, 

67 of incomprehensible perfection * different kinds of woods,’ 
ka and sara, 200 female slaves, vestments of wool, 

68 and linen; beautiful black coverings, beautiful purple cover- 
ings, precious stones, horns of buffaloes, white *° chariots, 
images of gold, their coverings, the treasures of his 
Royalty, I received of him; 

69 the chariots and warlike engines of the General of Car- 
chemish I laid up in my magazines; the Kings of all those 
lands who had come out against me received my yoke; their 
hostages I received ; 


5 Or, lead. 8 Or, with Mr. Norris, “‘ the whole 
6 Some projecting ornament, _ like of it was not taken.” Dict., » p- 
** horns of an altar.’”’ Cf. Ps. cxviii. 27; a. Lhe words specified are sa.” or 
Exod. xxx. 2. ‘ issa,’ * passur,’ and hn WE 
7 Probably some utensils, as explained “ ebony ” ; the others have not been 
by the Hebrew word “ unutu’ identified. 


(“‘ anioth ’’). 10 Probably ‘in ivory.” 


192 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


70 they did homage in my presence; to the land of Lebanon * 
I proceeded. From Carchemish I withdrew and marched 
to the territory of Munzigani and Harmurga: 

71 the land of Ahanu I reduced; to Gaza? the town of Lu- 
barna*® of the Khatti I advanced; gold and vestments of 
linen I received: 

72 crossing the river Abrie I halted and then leaving that 
river approached the town of Kanulua a royal city belong- 
ing to Lubarna of the Khatti: 

73 from before my mighty arms and my formidable onset he 
fled in fear, and for the saving of his life submitted to my 
yoke; Huenty talents of silver, one talent of gold, 

74 100 talents in tin, 100 talents in annut, 1,000 oxen, 10,000 
sheep, 1,000 vestments of wool, linen, mimati and kt woods 
coverings, 

75 ahuzate thrones, kut wood, wood for seats, their cover- 
ings, sarai, zueri-wood, horns of kui in abundance, the 
numerous utensils of his palace, whose beauty 

76 could not be comprehended:* . . . pagatu(?)® from 
the wealth of great Lords as his tribute 

77 | imposed upon him; the chariots and warlike engines of 
the land of the Khatti I laid up in my magazines; their 
hostages I took. 

In those days (I received) the tribute of Guzi 

78 of the land of Yahanai, silver, gold, tin® . . . oxen, 
sheep, vestments of wool and linen I received: from Kuna- 
lua the capital of Lubarna I withdrew, 

79 of the land of the Khatti, crossed the Orontes,’ and after 
a halt left it, and to the borders 

80 of the land of Yaraki and of Yahturi I went round: the 
land® . . . had rebelled: from the Sangura after a 
halt I withdrew ; 

81 I made a dapaie to the lands of Saratini and Girpani ® 

I halted and advanced to Aribue a fortified city 
belonging to Lubarna of the land of the Khatti: 

82 the city I took to myself; the wheats and barleys of Luhuti 
I collected; I allowed his palace to be sacked and settled 
Assyrians there.?° 


1TLabnana. _ ? Hazazi. Prince. 8 Defaced. k Saeko 

4The Inscription is here defaced. 8 Defaced. faced. 

& May this be Mes Hebrew word for 10 Precisely thus: “ The King of As 
garments, ‘‘ beged ”’ 


ANNALS OF ASSUR-NASIR-PAL 193 


83 While I was stationed at Aribua, I captured the cities of the 
land of Luhiti and slew many of their soldiers; overthrew 
razed and burned them with fire; 

84 the soldiers whom I took alive I impaled on stakes close 
by their cities. 

In those days I occupied the environs of Lebanon; to the 
great sea 

85 of Phcenicia* I went up: up to the great sea my arms | 
carried: to the gods I sacrificed; I took tribute of the 
Princes of the environs of the sea-coast, 

86 of the lands of Tyre, Sidon, Gebal, Maacah ? Maizai Kaizai, 
of Phoenicia and Arvad 

87 on the sea-coast—silver, gold, tin, copper, kam of copper, 
vestments of wool and linen, pagutu*® great and small, 

88 strong timber, wood of ki * teeth of dolphins, the produce 
of the sea, I received as their tribute: my yoke they ac- 
cepted; the mountains of Amanus® I ascended; wood for 
bridges, 

89 pines, box, cypress, /i-wood, I cut down; I offered sacri- 
fices for my gods; a trophy ® of victory I made, and in a 
central place I erected it; 

go gusuri-wood, cedar wood from Amanus I destined for Bit- 
Hira, and my pleasure house called Azmaku, for the temple 
of the Moon and Sun the exalted gods. 

gi I proceeded to the land of Iz-mehri, and took possession 
of it throughout: I cut down beams for bridges of mehri 
trees, and carried them to Nineveh; (and) 

92 to Istar Lady of Nineveh (on) my knees I knelt.? In the 
eponym of Samas-nuri® in the honor of the great. Lord 
Assur my Lord on the 20th of April ® 

93 from Calach I withdrew—crossed the Tigris—descended 
to the land of Kipani, and there, in the city of Huzirina, 
received the tribute of the governors of its cities. 

94 While stationed at Huzirana I received the tribute of 
Ittiel of Nilaya, Giridadi of Assaya, in silver 


syria brought men from Babylon . . 3 See p. 192, note 5. 
and placed them in the cities of * Ebony 
Samaria instead of the children of 5 The can eae chain which divides 
ilsrael.”’—2 Kings XVil. 24. ats; from Sanaa, 

1“ T, proo 

raped rivet: TN. y : h Literally, sat. 

2 ally, Zurai, Sidunai, Gubalai, Leip! S8 the sun is m light.” 

Makull ® Assyr. ‘ Airu,” Heb. Iyar.”’ 866 
B.C. 


13 


194 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


95 gold, oxen, sheep. In those days I received the tribute in 

beams for bridges, cedar wood, silver, gold of Qatuzili 

96 of Commagene *°—withdrew from Huzirina and took my 

way upward along the banks of the Euphrates; to Kubbu.* 

97 I crossed over into the midst of the towns of Assa in 

Kirkhi over against Syria. The cities of Umalie and 
Khiranu 

98 powerful cities centrally situated in Adani I captured ; num- 

bers of their soldiers I slew ; spoil beyond reckoning 

99 I carried off; the towns I overthrew and demolished; 150 

cities of their territory I burned with fire; then from Khi- 
ranu 

100 I withdrew; I passed over to the environs of the land of 
Amadani; I went down among the cities of Dirrie, and 
the cities within the lands of 

101 Amadani and Arquanie I burned with fire: Mallanu which 
is in the middle of Arquanie I took as my own possession ; 
I withdrew from Mallanu 

102 to the cities of Zamba on the sandy outskirt, which I 
burned with fire: I passed the river Sua, proceeding up 
to the Tigris whose cities 

103 on those banks and on these banks of the Tigris in Arkanie 
to a heap I reduced: its waters overflowed all Kirkhi: my 
yoke they took ; 

104 their hostages I exacted; a Viceroy of my own I appointed 
over them: in the environs of the land of Amadani I 
arrived: at Barza-Nistun 

105 To Dandamusa the fortified city of Hani son of Zamani 
I drew near and laid siege to it: my warriors like birds 
of prey rushed upon them; 

106 600 of their warriors I put to the sword and decapitated ; 
400 I took alive; 

107 3,000 captives I brought forth; I took possession of the 
city for myself: the living soldiers, and heads to the city 
of Amidi? the royal city, I sent; 

108 heaps of the heads close by his great gate I piled; the 
living soldiers I crucified on crosses * at the gates of the 


town ; 
10 Literally, Kumukhaya. of ‘‘ Kar-Amid.”’ Rawlinson’s “ Herod- 
1 Between Carchemish’. and the Oron- otus,” 1. 466. The name is of frequent 


tes occurrence in early Christian writers. 
S Diachekr, still known by the name 3 See p. 188, note 2. 


109 


110 


II! 


II2 


113 


114 


115 


116 


117 


118 


ANNALS OF ASSUR-NASIR-PAL 195 


inside the gates I made carnage; their forests I cut down ;* 
from Amidi I withdrew toward the environs of Kasyari; 
the city of Allabzie 

to whose rocks and stones no one among the Kings my 
fathers had ever made approach, I penetrated; to the town 
of Uda the fortress of Labduri son of Dubuzi 

I approached and besieged the city with bilsi(?) strength- 
ened and marching; the city I captured;° ; 
soldiers® . . . with my weapons I destroyed; 570 
soldiers 

I captured; 3,000 captives I took forth; soldiers alive I 
caught; some I impaled on stakes;7 of others 

the eyes I put out: the remainder I carried off to Assur 
and took the city as my own possession—I who am Assur- 
nasir-pal mighty King, King of Assyria son of Tuklat- 
Adar, (Tuklat-Ninip) 

great King, powerful King, King of legions, King of 
Assyria son of Vul-nirari® great King, mighty King, 
King of legions, King of Assyria, noble warrior, who in 
the service of Assur his Lord proceeded, and among the 
Kings of the four regions, 

has no equal, a Prince ® (giving) ordinances, not fearing 
opponents, mighty unrivalled leader, a Prince subduer of 
the disobedient, who all 

the thrones of mankind has subdued; powerful King 
treading over the heads of his enemies, trampling on the 
lands of enemies, breaking down the assemblages of the 
wicked ; who in the service of the great gods 

his Lords marched along; whose hand hath taken posses- 
sion of all their lands, laid low the forests of all of them, 
and received their tributes, taking hostages (and) im- 
posing laws 

upon all those lands; when Assur the Lord proclaimer 
of my name, aggrandizer of my Royalty, who added his 
unequivocal service to the forces of my government 


119 I destroyed the armies of the spacious land of Luilumi. 


“Cf. Is. x. 34, “He shall cut down -—§®The grandfather of Assur-nasir-pal. 
the thickets ot the forest with iron cs His reign probably terminated at 
also Ezek. xxxix. 10. B.C 

5 The inscription is here defaced. oe, iterally, shepherd. Thus, Isa. xliv. 

® Defaced. ** Cyrus is my shepherd.” 


7See p. 188, note 2. 


196 


I20 


I2I 


I22 


123 


124 


126 


127 


128 


129 


130 


sittet 


CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


In battle by weapons I smote them down. With the help 
of the Sun-god 

and Yav, the gods in whom I trust, I rushed upon the 
armies of Nairi, Kirkhi Subariya and Nirbi like Yav the 
inundator ; ?° 

a King who from the other side the Tigris to the land of 
Lebanon and the great sea has subjugated to his yoke the 
entire land of Lakie and the land of Zukhi as far as the 
city Rapik ; 

to whose yoke is subjected (all) from the sources of the 
Zupnat to the frontiers of Bitani; from the borders of 
Kirruri to Kirzani; 

from beyond the Lower Zab to the town of Tulsa-Zabdani 
and the town of Tul-Bari beyond the land of Zaban as far 
as the towns of Tul-sa-Zabdani and 

Tul-sa-Abtani; Harimu, Harutu in Birate of Kardunias 1 
to the borders of my land I added; (the inhabitants) of 
the territory of Babite 


3 with Khasmar among the people of my own country I 


accounted: in the countries which I held I established a 
deputy: they performed homage: submission 

I imposed upon them; I, Assur-nasir-pal, great, noble, wor- 
shipper of the great gods, generous, great, mighty 
possessors of cities and the forests of all their domains, 
King of Lords, consumer of 

the wicked taskaru invincible, who combats injustice, 
Lord of all Kings, King of Kings, glorious, upholder of 
Bar (Ninip) the warlike, worshipper 

of the great gods, a King who, in the service of Assur 
and Ninip, gods in whom he trusted, hath marched royally, 
and wavering lands and Kings his enemies in all their 
lands 

to his yoke hath subdued, and the rebels against Assur, 
high and low, hath opposed and imposed on them impost 
and tribute—Assur-nasir-pal 

mighty King, glory of the Moon-god ? worshipper of Anu, 
related * to Yav, suppliant of the gods, an unyielding ser- 


10 Cf. Ps. saa 10, ‘* The Lord (Jhvh) 20Or ae proclaimer of Sin, the 


h flood ; yea the Lord moon; cf. 


sitteth Ring ing forever 8 Assyr. “ Nalad. * Cf. the Heb. 
1This reads like an annexation of a 55 « 
portion of Babylonian territory. 2, ‘‘ born of. 


131 


132 


133 


134 


135 


136 


ANNALS OF ASSUR-NASIR-PAL 197 


vant, destroyer of the land of his foes; I, a King vehement 
in war, 
destroyer of forests and cities, chief over opponents, Lord 
of four regions, router of his enemies in strong lands and 
forests, and who Kings mighty and fearless from the ris- 
ing 
to the setting of the sun to my yoke subjugated. 

The former city of Calach which Shalmaneser King of 
Assyria going before me, had built— 
that city was decayed and reduced to a heap of ruins: that 
city I built anew; the people captured by my hand of the 
countries which I had subdued, Zukhi and Lakie, 
throughout their entirety, the town of Sirku on the other 
side of the Euphrates, all Zamua, Bit-Adini, the Khatti, 
and the subjects of Liburna I collected within, I made 
them occupy.‘ 
A water-course from the Upper Zab I dug and called it 
Pati-kanik: timber upon its shores I erected: a choice of 
animals to Assur my Lord and (for) the Chiefs of my 
realm I sacrificed ; 
the ancient mound I threw down: to the level of the water 
I brought it: 120 courses on the low level I caused it 
to go: its wall I built; from the ground to the summit I 
built (and) completed. 


[ Additional clauses are found on the monolith inscription in 
the British Museum. They are not, however, of any great 
importance and amount to little more than directions for the 
preservation and reparation of the palace, with imprecations 
upon those who should at any time injure the buildings. On 
this same monolith is found an invocation to the great gods 
of the Assyrian Pantheon: namely, to Assur, Anu, Hea, Sin 
[the Moon], Merodach, Yav Jahve, Jah[?], Ninip, Nebo, 
Beltis, Nergal, Bel-Dagon, Samas [the Sun], Istar. ] 


4 Precisely thus were the Israelites carried away to Babylon. 


198 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


ASSYRIAN SACRED POETRY 


TRANSLATED BY H. F. Tavsot, F.R.S. 


HE following translations are some of those which I 
published in the “Transactions of the Society of 
Biblical Archeology ” in order to show that the As- 

syrians had a firm belief in the immortality of the soul: a fact 
which was previously unknown. 

I have added specimens of their penitential psalms, and some , 
notices of their numerous superstitions, such as the exorcism of 
evil spirits, the use of magic knots and talismans, the belief in 
inherited or imputed sins, and in the great degree of holiness 
which they attributed to the number Seven. In some of these 
respects we may evidently see how great an influence was ex- 
ercised on the mind and belief of the Jews by their long resi- 
dence at Babylon. 


ASSYRIAN SACRED POETRY 
A PRAYER FOR THE KING 


1 “Length of days 

2 long lasting years 

3 a strong sword 

4 a long life 

5 extended years of glory 

6 pre-eminence among Kings | 

7 grant ye to the King my Lord, 

8 who has given such gifts 

9 to his gods! 
10 The bounds vast and wide 
II Of his Empire 
12 and of his Rule, 
13 may he enlarge and may he complete! 
14 Holding over all Kings supremacy 
15 and royalty and empire 
16 may he attain to gray hairs 
17 and old age! 
18 And after the life of these days, 


1 From the “ Trans. Soc. Bib. Arch.,’”? neiform Inscriptions of Western Asia,”’ 
vol. i. p. 107. The original is in ‘* Cu- vol. iii. pl. 66, 


ASSYRIAN SACRED POETRY 199 


19 in the feasts of the silver mountain,? the heavenly Courts 
o the abodes of blessedness: 

21 and in the Light 

22 of the Happy Fields, 

23 may he dwell a life 

24 eternal, holy 

25 in the presence 

26 of the gods 

27 who inhabit Assyria!” 


SHORT PRAYER FOR THE SOUL OF A DYING MAN? 


1 Like a bird may it fly to a lofty place! 
2 To the holy hands of its god, may it ascend! 


THE DEATH OF A RIGHTEOUS MAN 4 


1 Bind the sick man to Heaven, for from the Earth he is 
being torn away! 

2 Of the brave man who was so strong, his strength has de- 
parted. 

3 Of the righteous servant, the force does not return. 

4 In his bodily frame he lies dangerously ill. 

5 But Ishtar, who in her dwelling is grieved concerning him 

6 descends from her mountain, unvisited of men. 

7 To the door of the sick man she comes. 

8 The sick man listens! 

g Who is there? Who comes? 

10 It is Ishtar daughter of the Moon-god Sin: 

Ti i018 the code (hie wets) Son of Bel's 

12 Itis Marduk, Son ofthe god ( . . yy 

13 They approach the body of the sick man. 
(The next line, 14, is nearly destroyed.) 

15 They bring a khisibta® from the heavenly treasury, 

16 They bring a sisbu from their lofty storehouse: 

17 into the precious khisibta they pour bright liquor. 

18 That righteous man, may he now rise on high! 

19 May he shine like that khisibta! 

20 May he be bright as that sisbu! 


2 The Assyrian Olympus. The epithet an bere: Soc. Bib. Arch.,” vol. ii. 
“ silver’? was doubtless suggested by p. 

some snowy inaccessible peak, the sup- a Thid., vol. ii. p. 31. 

posed dwelling-place of the gods. 5 Probably a as or drinking-vessel. 


200 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


21 Like pure silver may his garment be shining white! 

22 Like brass may he be radiant ! 

23 To the Sun, greatest of the gods, may he ascend! 

24 And may the Sun, greatest of the gods, receive his soul 
into his holy hands! ° 


PENITENTIAL PSALMS 


(These lamentations seem frequently to be incoherent. A 
few specimens are taken from the same work as the pre- 
ceding.’) 

O my Lord! my sins are many, my trespasses are great; 

and the wrath of the gods has plagued me with disease 

and with sickness and sorrow. 

I fainted: but no one stretched forth his hand! 

I groaned: but no one drew nigh! 

I cried aloud: but no one heard! 

O Lord! do not abandon thy servant! 

In the waters of the great storm, seize his hand! 

The sins which he has committed, turn thou to righteous- 
ness! 


ELSEWHERE WE FIND 
I O my god! my sins are seven times seven! 
2 O my goddess! my sins are seven times seven! 


(And then a prayer follows, that those sins may be pardoned 
as a father and mother would pardon them!) 


AN ADDRESS TO SOME DEITY 


In heaven who is great? Thou alone art great! 

On earth who is great? Thou alone art great! 

When thy voice resounds in heaven, the gods fall prostrate! 
When thy voice resounds on earth, the genii kiss the dust! 


ELSEW HERE ® 


O Thou; thy words who can resist? who can rival them? 
Among the gods thy brothers, thou hast no equal! 


® There is a fine inscription not yet 7“ Trans. Soc. Bib. Arch.,” vol. ii, 
fully translated, describing the soul in p. 60. , 
heaven, clothed in a white radiant gar- 8 Ibid., vol. ii. p. 51. 


ment, seated in the company of the 
blessed, and fed by the gods themselves 
with celestial food. 


ASSYRIAN SACRED POETRY 201 


A PRAYER ® 


The god my creator, may he stand by my side! 
Keep thou the door of my lips! guard thou my hands, O 
Lord of light! 


ODE TO FIRE 


(The original text of this will be found in 4 R 14 1. 6 which 
is a lithographic copy of the tablet K, 44. A part of it was 
translated some years ago from a photograph of that tablet; 
see No. 430 of my Glossary. 

Very few Assyrian odes are so simple and intelligible as 
this is: unfortunately most of them are mystical and hard of 
interpretation. ) 


I O Fire, great Lord, who art the most exalted in the world, 

2 noble Son of heaven, who art the most exalted in the world, 

3 O Fire, with thy bright flame 

4 in the dark house thou dost cause. light. 

5 Of all things that can be named, Thou dost form the fabric! 

6 Of bronze and of lead, Thou art the melter! 

7 Of silver and of gold, Thou art the refiner! 

8 Of . . . Thou art the purifier! 

g Of the wicked man in the night time Thou dost repel the 
assault ! 

10 But the man who serves his god, Thou wilt give him light 


for his actions! 
9 Tdem, 


202 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


ASSYRIAN TALISMANS AND EXORCISMS 
TRANSLATED BY H. F. TAxsot, F.R.S. 


DEMONIACAL POSSESSION AND EXORCISM 
| Dyers were attributed to the influence of Evil Spirits. 


Exorcisms were used to drive away those tormentors: 
and this seems to have been the sole remedy employed, 
for I believe that no mention has been found of medicine. 

This is a very frequent subject of the tablets.1 One of them 
says of a sick man: 

1 “ May the goddess 

2 wife of the god 

3 turn his face in another direction; 

4 that the evil spirit may come out of him 

5 and be thrust aside, and that Good Spirits and Good Powers 
6 may dwell in his body!” 

Sometimes divine images were brought into the chamber, 
and written texts taken from holy books were placed on the 
walls and bound around the sick man’s brows. If these 
failed recourse was had to the influence of the mamit, which 
the evil powers were unable to resist. Ona tablet 2 R p. 17 
the following is found, written in the Accadian language only, 
the Assyrian version being broken off: 


1 Take a white cloth. In it place the mamit, 
2 in the sick man’s right hand. 

3 And take a black cloth: 

4 wrap it round his left hand. 

5 Then all the evil spirits.? 

6 and the sins which he has committed 

7 shall quit their hold of him, 

8 and shall never return.’ 


The symbolism of the black cloth in the left hand seems 
evident. The dying man repudiates all his former evil deeds. 
And he puts his trust in holiness, symbolized by the white 


1Taken from 2 R pl. 18. 8“ Trans. Soc. Bib. Arch.,” vol. ii. 
2A long list of them is given. P. 56. 


ASSYRIAN TALISMANS AND EXORCISMS 203 


cloth in his right hand. Then follow some obscure lines about 
the spirits— 


Their heads shall remove from his head: 
their hands shall let go his hands: 
their feet shall depart from his feet: 


which perhaps may be explained thus—we learn, from another 
tablet, that the various classes of evil spirits troubled different 
parts of the body. Some injured the head, some the hands 
and feet, etc., etc. Therefore the passage before us may mean: 
“The spirits whose power is over the hand, shall loose their 
hands from his,” etc. But I can offer no decided opinion on 
such obscure points of their superstition. 


INHERITED OR IMPUTED SINS 


These were supposed to pursue a sick man and torment 
him.* 
1 The mamit for him reveal! The mamit for him unfold! ® 
2 Against the evil spirit, disturber of his body! 
3 Whether it be the sin of his father: 
4 or whether it be the sin of his mother: 
5 or whether it be the sin of his elder brother: 
6 or whether it be the sin of someone who is unknown! ® 


MAGIC KNOTS 


Justin Martyr, speaking of the Jewish exorcists, says “ They 
use magic ties or knots.” <A similar usage prevailed among 
the Babylonians.?7 The god Marduk wishes to soothe the last 
moments ofa dying man. His father Hea says: Go my son! 


1 Take a woman’s linen kerchief 

2 bind it round thy right hand! loose it from the left Han 
3 Knot it with seven knots: do so twice: 

4 Sprinkle it with bright wine: 

5 bind it round the head of the sick man: 

6 bind it round his hands and feet, like manacles and fetters. 


See “ Cuneiform Senne re of ¢* Trans. Soc. Bib. Arch.,’” vol. ii, 


Western Asia,” vol. iv. p. p. a 
5A holy object, the ene of which 7 ITbid., p. 54. 


has not been ascertained. 


204 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 
7 Sit down on his bed: 
8 sprinkle holy water over him. 
9 He shall hear the voice of Hea, 
10 Davkina ® shall protect him! 
11 And Marduk, Eldest Son of heaven, shall find him a happy 
habitation! ° 


TALISMANS 


To cure diseases they seem to have relied wholly on charms 
and incantations. 

The first step was to guard the entrance to the sick man’s 
chamber. 

A tablet says: 

“That nothing evil may enter, place at the door the god 
(ok cand ithe; pod (Gain) 

That is to say, their images. I believe these were little 
figures of the gods, brought by the priests, perhaps a sort of 
Teraphim. 

The following line is more explicit: 

“Place the guardian statues of Hea and Marduk at the door, 
on the right hand and on the left.” 

But they added to this another kind of protection: 


1 Right and left of the threshold of the door, spread out holy 
texts and sentences. 
2 Place on the statues texts bound around them. 


These must have been long strips like ribbons of parchment 
or papyrus. The following line is still clearer: 

“In the night-time bind around the sick man’s head a sen- 
tence taken from a good book.” ?° 


8 One of the a aah goddesses, the as appears from the Targum on the Can- 
wife of the god Hea. ‘ ticles,” etc. We see that the Babylo- 
®“ Trans. Soc. Bib. Arch.,”’ vol. ii. nian precept was to bind holy sen- 
p. 54:. ; tences “around the head” and others 
10 Similar to these were the phylac- ““ right and left of the threshold of the 
teries of the Jews, which were con- door.”’ 
sidered to be protections from all evil. Cf. Deut. xi. 18: ‘‘ Ye shall lay up 
Schleusner in his Lexicon of the New these my words in your heart, and in 
Testament says that they were “ Strips your soul, and bind. them for a sign 
of parchment on which were written upon your hand, and as frontlets be- 


various portions of the Mosaic law, for 
the Jews believed that these ligaments 
had power to avert every kind of evil, 
but especially to drive away demons, 


tween your eyes. 

** And thou shalt write them upon the 
door-posts of thine house, and upon 
thy gates.” 


ASSYRIAN TALISMANS AND EXORCISMS 205 


HOLINESS OF THE NUMBER SEVEN 


Innumerable are the evidences of this opinion which are 
found on the tablets. Two or three instances may suffice 
here: 


THE SONG OF THE SEVEN SPIRITS ? 


1 They are seven! they are seven! 

2 In the depths of ocean they are seven! 

3 In the heights of heaven they are seven! 

4 In the ocean stream in a Palace they were born. 

5 Male they are not: female they are not! 

6 Wives they have not! Children are not born to them! 

7 Rule they have not! Government they know not! 

8 Prayers they hear not! 

9g They are seven, and they are seven! Twice over they are 
seven ! 


This wild chant touches one of the deepest chords of their 
religious feeling. They held that seven evil spirits at once 
might enter into a man: there are frequent allusions to them, 
and to their expulsion, on the tablets. One runs thus: 


1 The god (. . .) shall stand by his bedside: 
2 Those seven evil spirits he shall root out, and shall expel 
them from his body. 
3 And those seven shall never return to the sick man again! 
But sometimes this belief attained the grandeur of epic 

poetry. There is a fine tale on one of the tablets ? of the seven 
evil spirits assaulting heaven, and the gods alarmed standing 
upon the defensive, no doubt successfully, but unluckily the 
conclusion of the story is broken off. 


1“ Trans. Soc. Bib. Arch.,” vol. ii. 2** Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western 
p. 58. Asia,” vol. iv. pl. 5. 


206 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


ANCIENT BABYLONIAN CHARMS 
TRANSLATED BY Rev. A. H. Sayce, M.A. 


HE following are specimens of the imprecatory charms 
with which the ancient Babylonian literature abounded, 
and which were supposed to be the most potent means 

in the world for producing mischief. Some examples are 
given in the first volume of the “ Records of the Past,” pp. 
I3I-135 of the exorcisms used to avert the consequences of 
such enchantments. ‘The original Accadian text is preserved 
in the first column with an interlinear Assyrian translation: the 
short paragraphs in Column III also give the Accadian origi- 
nal; but elsewhere the Assyrian scribe has contented himself 
with the Assyrian rendering alone. The charms are rhythmic, 
and illustrate the rude parallelism of Accadian poetry. The 
Assyrian translations were probably made for the library of 
Sargon of Aganée, an ancient Babylonian monarch who 
reigned not later than the sixteenth century B.c.; but the copy 
we possess was made from the old tablets by the scribes of 
Assur-bani-pal. The larger part of the first column has al- 
ready been translated by M. Francois Lenormant in “ La 
Magie chez les Chaldéens,” p. 59. The tablet on which the 
inscription occurs is marked K 65 in the British Museum Col- 
lection and will be published in the “ Cuneiform Inscriptions 
of Western Asia,” Vol. IV, plates 7, 8 


ANCIENT BABYLONIAN CHARMS 


COLUMN I 


1 The beginning 1—The baneful charm ? like an evil demon 
acts against * the man. 

2 The voice that defiles acts upon him. 

3 The maleficent voice acts upon him. 

4 The baneful charm is a spell that originates sickness.* 

5 This man the baneful charm strangles like a lamb. 


1The Accadian word is translated by 2In the Assyrian version, ‘ curse.’ 
the Assyrian “‘siptu” (“‘lip” , and ®In the Assyrian, *‘ goes idle ay 2 
may be translated * beginning ’”’ or In the Assyrian, ‘‘ (is) the cause of 


** fresh paragraph.” sickness.’ 


ANCIENT BABYLONIAN CHARMS 207 


6 His god in his flesh makes the wound. 
7 His goddess mutual enmity brings down. 
8 The voice that defiles like a hyena covers him and subjugates 
him. 
g Merodach * favors him; and 
10 to his father Hea into the house he enters and cries: 
11 “O my father, the baneful charm like an evil demon acts 
against the man.” 
12 To the injured (man) he (Hea) speaks thus: 
13 “(A number) make: this man is unwitting: by means of 
the number he enslaves thee.” 
14 (To) his son Merodach he replies ° 
15 “ My son, the number thou knowest not; the number let 
me fix for thee. 7 
16 Merodach, the number thou knowest not; the number let 
me fix for thee. 
17 What I know thou knowest. 
18 Go, my son Merodach. 
Ig. . . with noble hand seize him, and 
20 his enchantment explain and his enchantment make known. 
21 Evil (is to) the substance of his body,’ 
22 whether (it be) the curse of his father, 
23 or the curse of his mother, 
24 or the curse of his elder brother, 
25 or the bewitching curse of an unknown man.” 
26 Spoken (is) the enchantment by the lips of Hea. 
27 Like a signet may he ® be brought near. 
28 Like garden-herbs may he be destroyed. 
29 Like a weed may he be gathered-for-sale. 
30 (This) enchantment may the spirit of heaven remember, 
may the spirit of earth remember. 


31 Like this signet he ® shall be cut, and the sorcerer 
32 the consuming fire-god shall consume. 

33 By written-spells he shall not be delivered. 

34 By curses and poisons he shall not be moved. 


5 The Accadian god identified with aorist, but the sense of the original is 
Merodach by the Assyrian translator better expressed in English by the 
was “ Silik-mulu-khi” (“the protector present than the past tense. 
of the city who benefits mankind ’’). 7 That is, the sorcerer’s. 

He was regarded as the son of Hea. ® The sorcerer. 
©The verbs throughout are in the ® The sorcerer. 


208 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


35 His property (and) ground he shall not take. 
36 His corn shall not be high and the sun shall not remember 
(him). 
COLUMN II 


1 On the festival of the god, the king unconquerable, 

2 may the man (by) the enchantment, (with) eldest son (and) 
wile, 

3 (by) sickness, the loss of the bliss of prosperity, of joy 
(and) of gladness, 

4 (by) the sickness which exists in a man’s skin, a man’s 
flesh (and) a man’s entrails, 

5 like this signet be brought near and 

6 on that day may the consuming fire-god consume; 

7 may the enchantment go forth and to (its) dwelling-place 
betake itself. 


8 Like this vineyard he shall be cut off, and the sorcerer 

g the consuming fire-god shall consume. 

10 Despite the holidays of a plague that returns not, 

11 despite the shrine of the god, the king unconquerable, 

I2 may the man, (by) the enchantment, (with) eldest son (and) 
wile, 

13 (by) sickness, the loss of the bliss of prosperity, of joy (and) 
of gladness, 

14 (by) the sickness which exists in a man’s skin, a man’s 
flesh, a man’s entrails, 

15 like this garden-stuff be rooted out, and 

16 on that day may the consuming fire-god consume. 

17 May the enchantment go forth and to (its) dwelling-place 
betake itself. 


18 Like this weed he shall be gathered for sale, and the sor- 
cerer 

19 the consuming fire-god shall consume. 

20 Before him, despite his blessedness that is not, 

21 despite the canopy of a covering that departs not, 

22 may the man (by) the enchantment, (with) eldest son (and) 
wife, 

23 (by) sickness, the loss of the bliss of prosperity, of joy (and) 
of gladness, 


ANCIENT BABYLONIAN CHARMS 209 


24 (by) the sickness which exists in a man’s skin, a man’s flesh, 
a man’s entrails, 

25 like this weed be plucked, and 

26 on that day may the consuming fire-god consume. 

27 May the enchantment go forth and to (its) dwelling-place 
betake itself. 


28 Like this thread he shall be stretched, and the sorcerer 

29 the consuming fire-god shall consume. 

30 Despite his adoration that is not, 

31 despite the clothing of the god, the King unconquerable, 

32 may the man, (through) the enchantment, (with) e/dest son 
(and) wife, 

33 (by) sickness, the loss of the bliss of prosperity, of joy (and) 
of gladness, 

34 (by) the sickness which exists in a man’s skin, a man’s 
flesh, a man’s entrails, 

35 like this thread be stretched, and 

36 on that day may the consuming fire-god consume. 

37 May the enchantment go forth and to (its) dwelling-place 
betake itself. 


38 Like this goat’s-hair cloth he shall be stretched, and the 
sorcerer 

39 the consuming fire-god shall consume. 

40 Despite the goat’s-hair that is not, 

41 despite the canopy of the covering (that departs not), 

42 may the man (through) the enchantment, (with) eldest son 
(and) wife, 

43 (by) sickness, the loss of the bliss of prosperity, of joy (and) 
of gladness, 

44 (by) the sickness which exists in a man’s skin, a man’s flesh, 
a man’s entrails, 

45 like this goat’s-hair cloth be stretched, and 

46 on that day the man may the consuming fire-god consume. 

47 May the enchantment go forth and to (its) dwelling-place 
betake itself. 


48 Like these boards he shall be stretched, and the sorcerer 

49 the consuming fire-god shall consume. 

50 O son of the macebearer, despite produce unproduced, 
14 


210 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


51 despite the clothing of the god, the King unconquerable, 

52 may the man (by) the enchantment, (with) eldest son and 
wife, 

53 (by) sickness, the loss of prosperity, of joy (and) of glad- 
ness, 

54 (by) the sickness which exists in a man’s skin, a man’s flesh, 
a man’s entrails, 

55 like these boards be stretched, and 

56 on that day may the consuming fire-god consume. 

57 May the enchantment go forth and to (its) dwelling-place. 
betake itself. 


COLUMN III 


(The first part of Column III is mutilated. It becomes legi- 

ble in the middle of a list of magical formule.) 

30 The chiefest talisman, the mighty talisman, the engraved 
talisman, the talisman is the binder, with enchantment. 

31 The repetition of the enchantment (is) baneful to man. 

32 The curses of the gods. 

33. . . the binder with enchantment. 

34 (With enchantment) his hands (and) his feet he binds. 

35 Merodach, the son of Hea, the prince, with his holy hands 
cuts the knots. 

36 May the enchantment cause this talisman to the desert 
among the wild beasts to go forth. 

37 May the baneful enchantment seize upon others. 

38 May this man rest (and) open (his eyes). 

39 To the blessed hand of his god may he be committed. 

40 Conclusion of the formule for averting sorcery. 


41 For the raising of the mighty foundation thus have I 
burned up straight, 
42 like fire have I burned up (and) have delivered the oracle.’® 


COLUMN IV 


1 The noble cupbearer of Hea, the scribe of Merodach (am) I. 
2 Like fire have I blazed (and) I rejoice; + 

3 (like) fire have I burned (and) I grow; 

4 the corn I purify and make heavy. 


10 Or, *‘ have laid the witchcraft.” 2Or, “rest.” 


5 
6 


7 
8 


9 
10 


II 
I2 


13 
14 
15 
16 


17 
18 
19 
20 


21 


22 
23 
24 
25 


ANCIENT BABYLONIAN CHARMS 211 


Like fire have I blazed (and) will rejoice ; 

(like) fire have I burned (and) will grow; 

the corn will I purify and make heavy. 

O nadir (and) zenith, the light of god and man, 

may the store he collected be delivered. 

May the store of (his) heart whoever he be, ye his god 
and his goddess, be delivered. 

May his gate be kept fast. On that day 

may they enrich him, may they deliver him. 


May the rejoicing * of the warrior fire-god 

rejoice with thee. May lands and rivers 

rejoice with thee. May Tigris and (Euphrates) 

rejoice with thee. May the seas and (the ocean) 

rejoice with thee. May the forest, the daughter of the 
gods, 

rejoice with thee. May all the production (of the earth) 

rejoice with thee. May the hearts of my god and my god- 
dess, well-feasted, 

rejoice with thee. May the hearts of the god and the 
goddess of the city, well-feasted, (rejoice with thee). 

On that day from the curse may my heart, O my god and 
my goddess, be delivered, 

and may the enchantment go forth from my body. 

When the doom comes upon thee, 

and from the fulfilment thou protectest thyself, 

the doom when fulfilled cut thou off. 


26 (The tablet) beginning: 
Colophon. 


Tablet (copied from) 

the old (tablets of Chaldea). 
Country of (Assur-bani-pal) 
King of (Assyria). 


2The words translated “rejoicing” and ‘ rejoice’ properly signify ‘‘ rest,” 


and that may be their meaning here. 


212 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


INSCRIPTION OF TIGLATH PILESER I, KING OF 
ASSYRIA 


TRANSLATED BY SIR H. RAwLinson, K.C.B., D.C.L., Etc. 


HIS inscription of Tiglath Pileser I is found on an 
octagonal prism and on some other clay fragments 
discovered at Kalah-Shergat and at present in the 

British Museum. The text is published in the “ Cuneiform 
Inscriptions of Western Asia,” Vol. I, pp. ix—xvi. Four 
translations of this inscription, made simultaneously in 1857 
by Sir H. Rawlinson, Mr. Fox Talbot, Dr. Hincks, and Dr. 
Oppert, were published in that year under the title of “ In- 
scription of Tiglath Pileser I, King of Assyria, B.c 1150.” 
Dr. Oppert has also given a revised translation in his “ Histoire 
de Empire de Chaldée et d’Assyrie,” 8vo, Versailles, 1865, ex- 
tracted from the “Annales de la Philosophie chrétienne”’ of the 
same year, 5e Series, p. 44 and foll. The translations simul- 
taneously published were submitted to the Asiatic Society in 
that year as a test of the advance made in Assyrian interpreta- 
tions and the close approximation made by scholars in their 
interpretation of Assyrian texts. The notes contain some of 
the different readings of the other Assyrian scholars at that 
time and give a few of the principal varieties of reading some 
of the words. It was generally considered a very triumphant 
demonstration of the sound basis on which the then compara- 
tively recent Assyrian researches were placed and a confuta- 
tion of certain opinions then prevalent, that no certain or 
accurate advance had been made in the decipherment of As- 
syrian inscriptions. On the whole for its extent and historical 
information relating to the early history of Assyria this in- 
scription is one of the most important of the series showing the 
gradual advance and rise of Assyria, while as one of the first 
interpreted it presents considerable literary interest in respect 
to the details of the progress of Assyrian interpretation. It 
is also nearly the oldest Assyrian text of any length which has 
been hitherto discovered and is very interesting from its ac- 
count of the construction of the temples and palaces made by 
the King in the early part of his reign. ot) 


INSCRIPTION OF TIGLATH PILESER I 213 


INSCRIPTION OF TIGLATH PILESER I 
THE BEGINNING 


Ashur, the great Lord, ruling supreme over the gods; the 
giver of sceptres and crowns; the appointer of sovereignty. 
Bel, the Lord; King of the circle of constellations;* Father 
of the gods; Lord of the world. Sin;* the leader the Lord 
of Empire the powerful the auspicious god; Shamas;* the 
establisher of the heavens and the earth; . . . ;* the 
vanquisher of enemies; the dissolver of cold. Vul;*° he who 
causes the tempest to rage over hostile lands and wicked 
countries. Abnil® Hercules; the champion who subdues 
heretics and enemies, and who strengthens the heart. /shtar, 
the eldest’ of the gods; the Queen of Victory; she who ar- 


ranges battles. 
II 


The great gods, ruling over the heavens and the earth, whose 
attributes I have recorded and whom I have named; the guar- 
dians of the kingdom of Tiglath Pileser, the Prince inspiring 
your hearts with joy; the proud Chief whom in the strength 
of your hearts ye have made firm, (to whom) ye have con- 
fided the supreme crown, (whom) ye have appointed in might 
to the sovereignty of the country of Bel, to whom ye have 
granted pre-eminence, exaltation, and warlike power. May 
the duration of his empire continue forever to his royal pos- 
terity, lasting as the great temple of Bel! 


III 


Tiglath Pileser the powerful king; supreme King of Lash- 
anan;* King of the four regions; King of all Kings; Lord 
of Lords; the supreme; Monarch of Monarchs; the illustrious 
Chief who under the auspices of the Sun god, being armed 
with the sceptre and girt with the girdle of power over man- 
kind, rules over all the people of Bel; the mighty Prince whose 
praise is blazoned forth among the Kings: the exalted sov- 


4 Aratnaki. (Fox Talbot.) 5 Ninev. (Fox Talbot.) Ao. (Dr. Op: 
2 The moon. pert.) | 

%The sun. ® Ninip-Sumdan. Dr. Oppert. 

* Lacuna. TOr source. 


8“ Various tongues.” Talbot. 


214 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


ereign, whose servants Ashur has appointed to the govern- 
ment of the country of the four regions (and) has made his 
name celebrated to posterity; the conqueror of many plains 
and mountains of the Upper and Lower Country; the con- 
quering hero, the terror of whose name has overwhelmed all 
regions ; the bright constellation who, according to his power ® 
has warred against foreign countries (and) under the auspices 
of Bel, there being no equal to him, has subdued the enemies 
of Ashur.?° 
IV 


Ashur (and) the great gods, the guardians of my kingdom, 
who gave government and laws to my dominions, and ordered 
an enlarged frontier to their territory, having committed to 
(my) hand their valiant and warlike servants, I have subdued 
the lands and the peoples and the strong places, and the Kings 
who were hostile to Ashur; and I have reduced all that was 
contained in them. With a host? of kings I have fought 
. . . and have imposed on them the bond of servitude. 
There is not to me a second in war, nor an equal in battle. 
I have added territory to Assyria and peoples to her people. 
I have enlarged the frontier of my territories, and subdued all 
the lands contained in them.’ 


V 


In the beginning of my reign 20,000 of the Muskayans * and 
their 5 kings, who for 50 years had held the countries of Alza 
and Perukhuz, without paying tribute and offerings to Ashur 
my Lord, and whom a King of Assyria had never ventured 
to meet in battle betook themselves to their strength, and went 
and seized the country of Comukha. In the service of Ashur 
my Lord my chariots and warriors I assembled after me 

© the country of Kasiyaia,® a difficult country, I passed 
through. With their 20,000 fighting men and their 5 kings 
in the country of Comukhal engaged. I defeatedthem. The 
ranks of their warriors in fighting the battle were beaten down 
as if by the tempest. Their carcasses covered the valleys and 


®Or, *‘as he wished.’ § Literally, “‘a sixty.” 

10 Or, ‘‘ has made them obedient to * Sirki citizens. (Fox Talbot.) 
Ashur.’”’ 5 Lacuna. 

1The preamble concludes here. ® Mount Kasiyaia. (Dr. Hincks.) 


2 Lacuna. 


INSCRIPTION OF TIGLATH PILESER I 215 


the tops of the mountains. I cut off their heads. The battle- 
ments of their cities I made heaps of, like mounds of earth, 
their movables, their wealth, and their valuables I plundered 
to a countless amount. 6,000 of their common soldiers who 
fled before my servants and accepted my yoke, I took them, 
and gave them over to the men of my own territory.’ 


vi 


Then I went into the country of Comukha,® which was dis- 
obedient and withheld the tribute and offerings due to Ashur 
my Lord: I conquered the whole country of Comukha. I 
plundered their movables, their wealth, and their valuables. 
Their cities I burnt with fire, I destroyed and ruined. The 
common people of Comukha, who fled before the face of my 
servants, crossed over to the city of Sherisha,® which was on 
the further banks of the Tigris, and made this city into their 
stronghold. I assembled my chariots and warriors. I be- 
took myself to carts of iron ?° in order to overcome the rough 
mountains and their difficult marches. I made the wilder- 
ness (thus) practicable for the passage of my chariots 
and warriors. I crossed the Tigris and took the city of 
Sherisha their stronghold. Their fighting men, in the middle 
of the forests, like wild beasts, I smote. Their carcasses filled 
the Tigris, and the tops of the mountains. At this time the 
troops of the Akhe,’ who came to the deliverance and assist- 
ance of Comukha, together with the troops of Comukha, like 
chaff I scattered. The carcasses of their fghting men I piled 
up like heaps on the tops of the mountains. The bodies of 
their warriors, the roaring * waters carried down to the Tigris. 
Kili Teru son of Kali Teru, son of Zarupin Zihusun, their 
King,® in the course of their fighting fell into my power. His 
wives and his children, the delight of his heart I dispossessed 
him of. One hundred and eighty * iron vessels and 5 trays of 
copper, together with the gods of the people in gold and silver, 
and their beds and furniture I brought away. Their movables 


TAs slaves. ? Nami River. (Fox Talbot.) Blood 

8 Dummuk. (Dr. rides acs River. (Dr. Hincks.) 

® Sharisha. (Fox albot.) — Siris. $ Tirikali fil Tirikali. (Fox Talbot.) 
(Dr. Hincks.) Kiliantiru eldest son of Campineiyusan, 

10 Bridge. (Fox Talbot.) (Dr. Hin 


cks. 
1 Aliens. (Dr. Hincks.) * Literally, ‘‘ three sixties,’ 


216 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


and their wealth I plundered. This city and its palace I burnt 
with fire, I destroyed and ruined. 


Vil 


The city of Urrakluiras their stronghold which was in the 
country of Panari, | went toward. The exceeding fear of the 
power of Ashur, my Lord, overwhelmed them. To save their 
lives they took their gods, and fled like birds to the tops of 
the lofty mountains. I collected my chariots and warriors, 
and crossea the Tigris. Shed: Teru® the son of Khasutkh,® 
King of Urrakluiras on my arriving in his country submitted 
to my yoke. His sons, the delight of his heart, and his favor- 
ites, 1 condemned to the service of the gods: 60 vessels of iron; 
trays’ and bars of copper . . .§ with 120 cattle, and flocks 
he brought as tribute and offerings. I accepted (them) and 
spared him. I gave him his life, but imposed upon him the 
yoke of my empire heavily forever. The wide spreading 
country of Comukha I entirely conquered, and subjected to 
my yoke. At this time one tray of copper and one bar of cop- 
per from among the service offerings and tribute of Comukha 
I dedicated to Ashur my Lord, and 60 iron vessels with their 
gods I offered to my guardian god, Vul.® 


VIII 


From among my valiant servants, to whom Ashur the Lord 
gave strength and power, in 30 of my chariots, select com- 
panies of my troops and bands of my warriors who were ex- 
pert in battle, 1 gathered together. I proceeded to the 
extensive country of Miltis,1° which did not obey me; it con- 
_ sisted of strong mountains and a difficult land. Where it was 
easy I traversed it in my chariots: where it was difficult I went 
on foot. Inthe country of Aruma, which was a difficult land, 
and impracticable to the passage of my chariots, I left the 
chariots and marched in front of my troops. Like . . § 
on the peak of the rugged mountains, I marched victoriously. 
The country of Miltis,?° like heaps of stubble, I swept. Their 
fighting men in the course of the battle like chaff I scattered. 


6 Sadiyantim. (Dr. Hincks.)  Tiri- 7 ** Nirmah mamkhar.” (Dr. Hincks.) 
dates. (Fox Talbot.) 8 Lacuna. 
6 Kuthakin. _ (Fox Talbot.) Kha- 9‘* Yem.”? (Fox Talbot.) 


thukhi. (Dr. Hincks.) 0 Eshtish. (Fox Talbot.) 


INSCRIPTION OF TIGLATH PILESER I 217 


Their movables, their wealth and their valuables I plundered. 
Many of their cities I burned with fire. I imposed on them 
religious service,’ and offerings and tribute. 


IX 


Tiglath Pileser, the illustrious warrior, the opener of the 
roads of the countries, the subjugator of the rebellious . . . 
he who has overrun the whole Magian world. 


x 


I subdued the extensive country of Subair, which was in 
rebellion. The countries of Alza and Purukhuz, which de- 
ferred their tribute and offerings, the yoke of my empire 
heavily upon them I imposed, decreeing that they should bring 
their tribute and offerings into my presence in the city of 
Ashur. While I was on this expedition, which the Lord 
Ashur, committing to my hand a powerful rebel subduing 
army, ordered for the enlargement of the frontiers of his terri- 
tory, there were 4,000 of the Kaskaya and Hurunaya rebellious 
tribes of the Kheti* who had brought under their power the 
cities of Subarta, attached to the worship of Ashur, my Lord 
(so that) they did not acknowledge dependence on Subarta. 
The terror of my warlike expedition overwhelmed them. 
They would not fight, but submitted to my yoke. Then I 
took their valuables, and 120% of their chariots fitted to the 
yoke, and I gave them to the men of my own country. 


XI 


In the course of this my expedition, a second time I pro- 
ceeded to the country of Comukha. I took many of their 
cities. Their movables, their wealth, and their valuables I 
plundered. Their cities I burnt with fire, I destroyed and 
overthrew. The soldiers of their armies, who from before the 
face of my valiant servants fled away, they would not engage 
with me in the fierce battle: to save their lives they took to 
the stony heights of the mountains, an inaccessible region: to 
the recesses of the deep forests and the peaks of the difficult 
mountains which had never been trodden by the feet of men, 

1 Hostages. Fox Talbot. For further 8 Lacuna. 


and subsequent various readings see ® Hittites. 
the edition of 1857. ? «Two “ soss.”’ 


218 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


I ascended after them: they fought with me; I defeated them: 
the ranks of their warriors on the tops of the mountains fell 
like rain: their carcasses filled the ravines and the high places 
of the mountains: their movables, their wealth, and their valu- 
ables I carried off from the stony heights of the mountains. 
I subdued the country of Comukha throughout its whole 
extent, and I attached it to the frontiers of my own territory. 


XII 


Tiglath Pileser, the powerful King, the vanquisher of the 
disobedient, he who has swept the face of the earth. 


XIII 


In profound reverence to Ashur my Lord, to the country 
of Kharia, and the far-spreading tribes of the Akhe, deep 
forests, which no former King (of Assyria) had ever reached, 
the Lord Ashur invited me to proceed. My chariots and 
forces I assembled, and I went to an inaccessible region be- 
yond the countries of Itni and Aya. As the steep mountains 
stood up like metal posts, and were impracticable to the pas- 
sage of my chariots, I placed my chariots in wagons, and 
(thus) I traversed the difficult ranges of hills. All the lands 
of the Akhe and their wide-spreading tribes having assembled, 
arose to do battle in the country of Agutapis. In an inaccessi- 
ble region I fought with them and defeated them. The ranks 
of their (slain) warriors on the peaks of the mountains were 
piled up in heaps; the carcasses of their warriors filled the 
ravines and high places of the mountains. To the cities which 
were placed on the tops of the mountains I penetrated vic- 
toriously : 27 cities of Kharia, which were situated in the dis- 
tricts of Aya, Suira, Itni, Shetzu, Shelgu, Arzanibru, Varutsu, 
and Anitku, I took; their movables, their wealth, and their 
valuables I plundered ; their cities I burnt with fire, I destroyed 
and overthrew. 


XIV 


The people of Adavas feared to engage in battle with me; 
they left their habitations, and fled like birds to the peaks of 
the lofty mountains. The terror of Ashur my Lord over- 


INSCRIPTION OF TIGLATH PILESER I 219 


whelmed them; they came and submitted to my yoke; I im- 
posed on them tribute and offerings. 


XV 


The countries of Tsaravas and Ammavas, which from the 
olden time had never submitted, I swept like heaps of stubble; 
with their forces in the country of Aruma I fought, and I 
defeated them. The ranks of their fighting men I levelled 
like grass. I bore away their gods; their movables, their 
wealth, and their valuables I carried off. Their cities I burnt 
with fire, I destroyed and overthrew, and converted into heaps 
and mounds. The heavy yoke of my empire I imposed on 
them. I attached them to the worship of Ashur my Lord. 


XVI 


I took the countries of Itsua and Daria, which were turbu- 
lent and disobedient. Tribute and offerings I imposed on 
them. I attached them to the worship of Ashur. 


XVII 


In my triumphant progress over my enemies, my chariots 
and troops I assembled; I crossed the lower Zab. The coun- 
tries of Muraddan and Tsaradavas, which were near Atsaniu 
and Atuva, difficult regions, | captured; their warriors I cut 
down like weeds. The city of Muraddan, their capital city, 
and the regions toward the rising sun, I took possession of. 
Their gods, their wealth, and their valuables, one soss bars of 
iron, 30 talents of iron, the abundant wealth of the Lords, of 
their palaces, and their movables, I carried off. This city I 
burnt with fire, I destroyed and overthrew. At this time this 
iron to the god Vul, my great Lord and guardian, I dedi- 


cated. ) 
XVIII 


In the might and power of Ashur my Lord, I went to the 
country of Tsugi, belonging to Gilkhi, which did not ac- 
knowledge Ashur my Lord. With 4,000 of their troops, 
belonging to the countries Khimi, Lukhi, Arirgi, Alamun, 
Nuni, and all the far-spread land of the Akhi, in the country 
of Khirikhi, a difficult region, which rose up like metal posts, 


220 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


with all their people I fought on foot. I defeated them; the 
bodies of their fighting men on the tops of the mountains I 
heaped in masses. The carcasses of their warriors | strewed 
over the country of Khirikhi like chaff. I took the entire 
country of Tsugi. Twenty-five of their gods, their movables, 
their wealth, and their valuables I carried off. Many of their 
cities I burnt with fire, I destroyed and overthrew. The men 
of their armies submitted to my yoke. I had mercy on them. 
I imposed on them tribute and offerings. With attachment 
to the worship of Ashur, my Lord, I intrusted them.° 


XIX 


At this time 25 of the gods belonging to those countries, 
subject to my government, which I had taken, I dedicated 
for the honor of the temple of the Queen of glory, the great 
ancestress of Ashur my Lord, of Anu, and of Vul, the goddess 
who is the guardian of all the public temples of my city of 
Ashur, and of all the goddesses of my country. 


XX 


Tiglath-Pileser, the powerful King; the subduer of hostile 
races; the conqueror of the whole circle of kings. 


XXI 


At this time, in exalted reverence to Ashur, my Lord, by 
the godlike support of the heroic “ Sun,” having in the service 
of the great gods, ruled over the four regions imperially ; 
there being found (to me) no equal in war, and no second in 
battle, to the countries of the powerful Kings who dwelt upon 
the upper ocean and had never made their submission, the 
Lord Ashur having urged me, I went. Difficult mountain 
chains, and distant (or inaccessible) hills, which none of our 
Kings had ever previously reached, tedious paths and un- 
opened roads I traversed. The countries of Elama, of Ama- 
dana, of Eltis, of Sherabili, of Likhuna, of Tirkakhuli, of Kisra, 
of Likhanubi, of Elula, of Khastare, of Sakhisara, of Hubira, 
of Miliatruni, of Sulianzi, of Nubanashe, and of Sheshe, 16 
strong countries, the easy parts in my chariots, and the diffi- 
cult parts in wagons of iron, I passed through; the thickets 


® That is, ‘I caused them to worship Ashur.’’ 


INSCRIPTION OF TIGLATH PILESER I 221 


of the mountains I cut down; bridges for the passage of my 
troops I prepared; I crossed over the Euphrates; the King 
of Elammi, the King of Tunubi, the King of Tuhali, the King 
of Kindari, the King of Huzula, the King of Vanzamuni, the 
King of Andiabi, the King of Pilakinna, the King of Atur- 
gina, the King of Kulibartzini, the King of Pinibirni, the King 
of Khimua, the King of Paiteri, the King of Vairam, the King 
of Sururia, the King of Abaéni, the King of Adaéni, the King 
of Kirini, the King of Albaya, the King of Vagina, the King 
of Nazabia, the King of Amalzii, the King of Dayeni, in all 
23 Kings of the countries of Nairi, in their own provinces 
having assembled their chariots and troops, they came to fight 
with me. By means of my powerful servants I straitened 
them.” I caused the destruction of their far-spreading troops, 
as if with the destroying tempest of Vul. I levelled the ranks 
of their warriors, both on the tops of the mountains and on 
the battlements of the cities, like grass. Two soss® of their 
chariots I held as a trophy from the midst of the fight; one 
soss ® of the kings of the countries of Nairi, and of those who 
had come to their assistance, in my victory as far as the upper 
ocean I pursued them; I took their great castles; I plundered 
their movables, their wealth and their valuables; their cities 
I burnt with fire, I destroyed and overthrew, and converted 
into heaps and mounds. Droves of many horses and mules, 
of calves and of lambs, their property, in countless numbers 
I carried off. Many of the kings of the countries of Nairi 
fell alive into my hands; to these kings I granted pardon; 
their lives I spared; their abundance and wealth I poured out 
before my Lord, the sun-god. In reverence to my great gods, 
to after-times, to the last day, I condemned them to do homage. 
The young men, the pride of their royalty, I gave over to the 
service of the gods; 1,200 horses and 2,000 cattle I imposed 
on them as tribute, and I allowed them to remain in their own 
countries. 
XXII 

Tseni, the King of Dayani, who was not submissive to Ashur 
my Lord, his abundance and wealth I brought it to my city 
of Ashur. I had mercy on him. I left him in life to learn 
: Literally, to make war and do bat- esata and twenty. 

7Or, brought them into difficulties. 


220 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


the worship of the great gods from my city of Ashur. I re- 
duced the far-spreading countries of Nairi throughout their 
whole extent, and many of their kings I subjected to my yoke. 


XXIII 


In the course of this expedition, I went to the city of Milidia, 
belonging to the country of Khanni-rabbi, which was inde- 
pendent and did not obey me. They abstained from engaging 
in the rude fight with me; they submitted to my yoke, and I 
had mercy on them. This city I did not occupy, but I gave 
the people over to religious service, and I imposed on them 
as a token of their allegiance a fixed tributeof . . .1° 


XXIV 


Tiglath-Pileser, the ruling constellation; the powerful; the 
lover of battle. 


XXV 


In the service of my Lord Ashur, my chariots and warriors 
I assembled; I set out on my march. In front of my strong 
men I went to the country of the Aramzans, the enemies of 
my Lord Ashur. From before Tsukha, as far as the city of 
Qarqamis* belonging to the country of Khatte,? I smote with 
one blow. ‘Their fighting men I slew; their movables, their 
wealth, and their valuables in countless numbers I carried off. 
The men of their armies who fled from before the face of the 
valiant servants of my Lord Ashur, crossed over the Eu- 
phrates; in boats covered with bitumen skins I crossed the 
Euphrates after them; I took six of their cities which were 
below the country of Bisri; I burnt them with fire, and I de- 
stroyed and overthrew; and I brought their movables, their 
wealth, and their valuables to my city of Ashur. 


XXVI 


Tiglath-Pileser, he who tramples upon the Magian world; 
he who subdues the disobedient; he who has overrun the 
whole earth. 


10 Lacuna. 1 Carchemish, 2 The Hittites. 


INSCRIPTION OF TIGLATH PILESER I 223 


XXVII 


My Lord Ashur having urged me on, I took my way to the 
vast country of Muzri, lying beyond Elammi, Tala, and Kha- 
rutsa; 1 took the country of Muzri throughout its whole 
extent ; I subdued their warriors; I burnt their cities with fire, 
I destroyed and overthrew; the troops of the country of 
Comani hastened to the assistance of the country of Muzri: 
in the mountains I fought with them and defeated them. In 
the metropolis, the city of Arin, which was under the country 
of Ayatsa, I besieged them; they submitted to my yoke; | 
spared this city ; but I imposed on them religious service and 
tribute and offerings. 


XXVIII 


At this time the whole country of Comani which was in alli- 
ance with the country of Muzri, all their people assembled 
and arose to do battle and make war. By means of my valiant 
servants I fought with 20,000 of their numerous troops in the 
country of Tala, and I defeated them; their mighty mass broke 
in pieces; as far as the country of Kharutsa, belonging to 
Muzri, I smote them and pursued; the ranks of their troops 
on the heights of the mountains I cut down /ike grass; their 
carcasses covered the valleys and the tops of the mountains; 
their great castles I took, I burnt with fire, I destroyed, and 
overthrew into heaps and mounds. 


XXIX 


The city of Khunutsa, their stronghold, I overthrew like a 
heap of stubble. With their mighty troops in the city and 
on the hills I fought fiercely. I defeated them; their fighting 
men in the middle of the forests I scattered like chaff. I cut 
off their heads as if they were carrion; their carcasses filled the 
valleys and (covered) the heights of the mountains. I capt- 
ured this city; their gods, their wealth, and their valuables I 
carried off, and burnt with fire. Three of their great castles, 
which were built of brick, and the entire city I destroyed and 
overthrew, and converted into heaps and mounds, and upon 
the site I laid down large stones ; and I made tablets of copper, 
and I wrote on them an account of the countries which I had 


224 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


taken by the help of my Lord Ashur, and about the taking 
of this city, and the building of its castle; and upon it * I built 
a house of brick, and I set up within it these copper tablets. 


XXX 


In the service of Ashur my Lord, my chariots and warriors 
I assembled, and I approached Kapshuna, their capital city; 
the tribes of Comani would not engage in battle with me; 
they submitted to my yoke, and I spared their lives. The 
great castle of the city and its brick buildings I trampled under 
foot; from its foundations to its roofs I destroyed it and con- 
verted it into heaps and mounds, and a band of 300 fugitive 
heretics who did not acknowledge my Lord Ashur, and who 
were expelled from inside this castle, I took this band and 
condemned to the service of the gods, and I imposed upon 
the people tribute and offerings in excess of their former 
tribute; and the far-spreading country of Comani throughout 
its whole extent I reduced under my yoke. 


XXXI 


There fell into my hands altogether between the commence- 
ment of my reign and my fifth year 42 countries, with their 
kings, from beyond the river Zab, plain, forest, and mountain, 
to beyond the river Euphrates, the country of the Khatte * and 
the upper ocean of the setting sun. I brought them under one 
government; I placed them under the Magian religion, and I 
imposed on them tribute and offerings. 


XXXII 


I have omitted many hunting expeditions which were not 
connected with my warlike achievements. In pursuing after 
the game I traversed the easy tracts in my chariots, and the 
difficult tracts on foot. I demolished the wild animals 
throughout my territories.® 


XXXII 


Tiglath-Pileser, the illustrious warrior, he who holds the 
sceptre of Lashanan; he who has extirpated all wild animals. 


8* The stone foundation.” * Hittites. 8 A very difficult paragraph. 


INSCRIPTION OF TIGLATH PILESER I 225 


XXXIV 


The gods Hercules and Nergal gave their valiant servants 
and their arrows as a glory to support my empire. Under the 
auspices of Hercules, my guardian deity, four wild bulls, strong 
and fierce, in the desert, in the country of Mitan, and in the 
city Arazik, belonging to the country of the Khatte,® with my 
long arrows tipped with iron, and with heavy blows I took 
their lives. Their skins and their horns I brought to my city 
of Ashur. 

XXXV 


Ten large wild buffaloes in the country of Kharran, and 
the plains of the river Khabur, I slew. Four buffaloes I took 
alive; their skins and their horns, with the live buffaloes, I 
brought to my city of Ashur. 


XXXVI 


Under the auspices of my guardian deity Hercules, two 
soss of lions fell before me. In the course of my progress on 
foot I slew them, and 800 lions in my chariots in my explora- 
tory journeys I laid low. All the beasts of the field and the 
flying birds of heaven I made the victims of my shafts.’ 


XXXVII 


From all the enemies of Ashur, the whole of them, I exacted 
labor. I made, and finished the repairs of, the temple of the 
goddess Astarte, my lady, and of the temple of Martu, and of 
Bel, and II, and of the sacred buildings and shrines of the gods 
belonging to my city of Ashur. I purified their shrines, and 
set up inside the images of the great gods, my Lords. The 
royal palaces of all the great fortified cities throughout my 
dominions, which from the olden time our kings had neglected 
through long years, had become ruined. I repaired and fin- 
ished them. The castles of my country, I filled up their 
breaches. I founded many new buildings throughout Assyria, 
and I opened out irrigation for corn in excess of what my 
fathers had done. I carried off the droves of the horses, cattle, 
and asses that I obtained, in the service of my Lord Ashur, 
from the subjugated countries which I rendered tributary, and 

® Hittites. 7A very doubtful sentence. 
15 


226 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


the droves of the wild goats and ibexes, the wild sheep and the 
wild cattle which Ashur and Hercules, my guardian gods, 
incited me to chase in the depths of the forests, having taken 
them I drove them off, and I led away their young ones like 
the tame young goats. These little wild animals, the delight 
of their parents’ hearts, in the fulness of my own heart, to- 
gether with my own victims, I sacrificed to my Lord Ashur. 


XXXVITI 


‘Thewpine, (the ively Susan thengegume tree, these trees 
which under the former kings my ancestors, they had never 
planted, I took them from the countries which I had rendered 
tributary, and I planted them in the groves of my own terri- 
tories, and I bought fruit trees; whatever I did not find in my 
own country, I took and placed in the groves ® of Assyria. 


XXXIX 


I built chariots fitted to the yoke for the use of my people '° 
in excess of those which had existed before. I added terri- 
tories to Assyria, and I added populations to her population. 
I improved the condition of the people, and I obtained for 
them abundance and security. 


XL 


Tiglath-Pileser, the illustrious prince, whom Ashur and 
Hercules have exalted to the utmost wishes of his heart; who 
has pursued after the enemies of Ashur, and has subjugated all 
the earth. 


XLI 


The son of Ashur-ris-ili, the powerful King, the subduer of 
foreign countries, he who has reduced all the lands of the 
Magian world. 


XLII 


The grandson of Mutaggil-Nabu, whom Ashur, the great 
Lord, aided according to the wishes of his heart and established 
in strength in the government of Assyria. 


§ Lacuna. ® Or “orchards.”’ 10 Or “throughout my territories.” 


INSCRIPTION OF TIGLATH PILESER I 227 


XLII 


The glorious offspring of Ashur-dapur-Il, who held the 
sceptre of dominion, and ruled over the people of Bel; who in 
all the works of his hand and the deeds of his life placed his re- 
liance on the great gods, and thus obtained a prosperous and 
long life. 

XLIV 


The beloved child? of Barzan-pala-kura, the king who first 
organized the country of Assyria, who purged his territories of 
the wicked as if they had been . . . ,? and established the 
troops of Assyria in authority. 


XLV 


At this time the temple of Anu and Vul, the great gods, my 
Lords, which, in former times, Shansi-Vul, High-priest of 
Ashur, son of Ismi Dagan, High-priest of Ashur, had founded, 
having lasted for 641 years, it fell into ruin. Ashur-dapur-lIl, 
King of Assyria, son of Barzan-pala-kura, King of Assyria, 
took down this temple and did not rebuild it. For 60 years 
the foundations of it were not laid. 


XLVI 


In the beginning of my reign, Anu and Vul, the great gods, 
my Lords, guardians of my steps, they invited me to repair 
this their shrine. So I made bricks; I levelled the earth, I 
took its dimensions; I laid down its foundations upon a mass 
of strong rock. This place throughout its whole extent I paved 
with bricks in set order, 50 feet deep I prepared the ground, 
and upon this substructure I laid the lower foundations of the 
temple of Anu and Vul. From its foundations to its roofs I 
built it up, better than it was before. I also built two lofty 
cupolas in honor of their noble godships, and the holy place, a 
spacious hall, I consecrated for the convenience of their wor- 
shippers, and to accommodate their votaries, who were numer- 
ous as the stars of heaven, and in quantity poured forth like 
flights of arrows.® I repaired, and built, and completed my 
work. Outside the temple I fashioned (everything with the 
same care) as inside. The mound of earth (on which it was 

1 Or, * heart of hearts.” 2 Lacuna. 8 Very doubtful. 


228 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


built) I enlarged like the firmament of the rising stars, and I 
beautified the entire building. Its cupolas I raised up to 
heaven, and its roofs I built entirely of brick. An inviolable 
shrine for their noble godships I laid down near at hand. Anu 
and Vul, the great gods, I glorified inside,* I set them up on 
their honored purity, and the hearts of their noble godships I 
delighted. 
XLVII 

Bit-Khamri, the temple of my Lord Vul, which Shansi-Vul, 
High-priest of Ashur, son of Ismi-Dagan, High-priest of 
Ashur, had founded, became ruined. I levelled its site, and 
from its foundation to its roofs I built it up of brick, I enlarged 
it beyond its former state, and I adorned it. Inside of it I sac- 
rificed precious victims to my Lord Vul. 


XLVIII 


At this time I found various sorts of stone ® in the countries 
of Nairi, which I had taken by the help of Ashur, my Lord, and 
I placed them in the temple of Bit-Khamri, belonging to my 
Lord, Vul, to remain there forever. 


XLIX 


Since a holy place, a noble hall, I have thus consecrated for 
the use of the great gods, my Lords Anu and Vul, and have 
laid down an adytum for their special worship, and have 
finished it successfully, and have delighted the hearts of their 
noble godships, may Anu and Vul preserve me in power. May 
they support the men of my Government. May they establish 
the authority of my officers. May they bring the rain, the joy 
of the year, on the cultivated land and the desert during my 
time. In war and in battle may they preserve me victorious. 
Many foreign countries, turbulent nations, and hostile Kings 
I have reduced under my yoke; to my children and descendants 
may they keep them in firm allegiance. I will lead my steps, 
firm as the mountains, to the last days before Ashur and their 
noble godships. 

L 

The list of my victories and the catalogue of my triumphs 

over foreigners hostile to Ashur, which Anu and Vul have 


¢ The shrine. 6 The particular sorts cannot be identified. 


INSCRIPTION OF TIGLATH PILESER I 229 


granted to my arms, I have inscribed on my tablets and cylin- 
ders, and I have placed them to the last days in the temple of 
my Lords Anu and Vul, and the tablets of Shamsi-Vul, my 
ancestor, I have raised altars and sacrificed victims (before 
them), and set them up in their places. 


LI 


In after-times, andinthelatterdays . . . ,®%if the temple 
of the great gods, my Lords Anu and Vul, and these shrines 
should become old and fall into decay, may the prince who 
comes after me repair the ruins. May he raise altars and sacri- 
fice victims before my tablets and cylinders, and may he set 
them up again in their places, and may he inscribe his name 
on them together with my name. As Anu and Vul, the great 
gods, have ordained, may he worship honestly with a good 


heart and full trust. 
LIT 


Whoever shall abrade or injure my tablets and cylinders, or 
shall moisten them with water, or scorch them with fire, or 
expose them to the air, or in the holy place of god shall assign 
them a position where they cannot be seen or understood, or 
who shall erase the writing and inscribe his own name, or who 
shall divide the sculptures, and break them off from my tablets, 


LIII 


Anu and Vul, the great gods, my Lords, let them consign 
his name to perdition; let them curse him with an irrevocable 
curse; let them cause his sovereignty to perish; let them pluck 
out the stability of the throne of his empire; let not offspring 
survive him in the kingdom; let his servants be broken; let his 
troops be defeated ; let him fly vanquished before his enemies. 
May Vul in his fury tear up the produce of his land. May a 
scarcity of food and of the necessaries of life afflict his country. 
For one day may he not be called happy. May his name and 
his race perish in the land. 


In the month of Kuzallu,® on the 29th day, in the High-Priest- 
hood of Ina-iliya-hallik, (entitled) Rabbi-turi. 


6 Lacuna. 7 Doubtful and faulty in text. § Chisleu. 


230 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


THE REVOLT IN HEAVEN 
TRANSLATED BY H. Fox TALBot, F.R.S. 


HIS curious narrative is found on a cuneiform tablet in 
the British Museum. The original text is published 
in Plate 42 of Delitzsch’s work, “ Assyrische Lesestucke.” | 

I gave a translation of it in the “ Transactions of the Society 
of Biblical Archeology,” Vol. IV, pp. 349-362. 

This tablet describes the revolt of the gods or angels against 
their Creator. It seems to have been preceded by an account 
of the perfect harmony which existed in heaven previously. 
And here I would call to mind a noble passage in Job, chap. 
XxXxXviil, which deserves particular attention, since it is not de- 
rived from the Mosaic narrative but from some independent 
source, namely, that when God laid the foundations of the 
world, “the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of 
God shouted for joy.”” By “the sons of God ” in this passage 
are to be understood the angels. In the beginning, therefore, 
according to this sacred author, all was joy and harmony and 
loyalty to God. But this state of union and happiness was not 
to last. At some unknown time, but before the creation of 
man, some of the angels ceased to worship their Creator: 
thoughts of pride and ingratitude arose in their hearts, they 
revolted from God, and were by his just decree expelled from 
heaven. These were the angels of whom it is said in the book 
of Jude that “they kept not their first estate, but left their own 
habitation.” The opinions of the fathers and of other religious 
writers on this mysterious subject it were useless to examine, 
since they admit that nothing can be certainly known about 
it. The opinion that one-third of the heavenly host revolted 
from their Creator is founded on Rev. xii. 3, where it is said: 
“And there appeared a dragon in heaven, having seven heads 

and his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven 
and did cast them to the earth. And there was war in heaven. 
Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the 
dragon fought and his angels. And prevailed not: neither was 
their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon 


1 Jude 6. 


THE REVOLT IN HEAVEN 231 


was cast out—he was cast out into the earth and his angels 
were cast out with him.” 

The Revelation of St. John was written in the first century, 
but some of the imagery employed may have been far more 
ancient, and for that reason more impressive to the religious 
mind of the age. 

The war between Michael and the dragon bears much re- 
- semblance to the combat of Bel and the dragon recounted on 
a Chaldean tablet.2 And it is not unworthy of remark that 
the Chaldean dragon had seven heads, like that spoken of in the 
Revelation.® 

At the creation harmony had prevailed in heaven. All the 
sons of God, says Job, shouted for joy. What caused the ter- 
mination of this blissful state? We are not informed, and it 
would be in vain to conjecture. But the Babylonians have 
preserved to us a remarkable tradition, which is found in the 
tablet of page 42, and has not, I believe, been hitherto under- 
stood. It is unlike anything in the Bible or in the sacred his- 
tories of other countries. While the host of heaven were as- 
sembled and were all engaged in singing hymns of praise to 
the Creator, suddenly some evil spirit gave the signal of revolt. 
The hymns ceased in one part of the assembly, which burst 
forth into loud curses and imprecations on their Creator. In 
his wrath he sounded a loud blast of the trumpet and drove 
them from his presence never to return. 


THE REVOLT IN HEAVEN 


(The first four lines are broken. They related, no doubt, that 
a festival of praise and thanksgiving was being held in heaven, 
when this rebellion took place.) 


5 The Divine Being spoke three times, the commencement 
of a psalm. 

6 The god of holy songs, Lord of religion and worship 

7 seated a thousand singers and musicians: and established 
a choral band 

8 who to his hymn were to respond in multitudes 


*See G. Smith, p. 100 of his Chal- 3% See 2 R 19, col. ii. 14, and my As- 
dean Genesis. syrian Glossary, No. 108. 


232 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 
g With a loud cry of contempt they broke up his holy song 

10 spoiling, confusing, confounding, his hymn of praise. 

11 The god of the bright crown * with a wish to summon his 
adherents 

I2 sounded a trumpet blast which would wake the dead, 

13 which to those rebel angels prohibited return, 

14 he stopped their service, and sent them to the gods who 
were his enemies.° 

15 In their room he created mankind.® 

16 The first who received life dwelt along with him. 

17 May he give them strength, never to neglect his word, 

18 following the serpent’s voice, whom his hands had made. 

19 And may the god of divine speech” expel from his five 
thousand ® that wicked thousand 

20 who in the midst of his heavenly son, had shouted evil 
blasphemies! 

21 The god Ashur, who had seen the malice of those gods who 
deserted their allegiance 

22 to raise a rebellion, refased to go forth with them. 


(The remainder of the tablet, nine or ten lines more, is too 
much broken for translation.) 


THE LEGEND OF THE TOWER OF BABEL 
TRANSLATED BY W. St. CHAD BosScAWEN 


HIS legend is found on a tablet marked K, 3,657, in the 
British Museum. The story which the tablet contains 
appears to be the building of some great temple tower, 

apparently by command ofa king. The gods are angry at the 

work, and so to put an end to it they confuse the speech of the 

builders. The tablet is in a very broken condition, only a few 
lines being in any way complete. 

The late Mr. George Smith has given a translation of the 

* The Assyrian scribe annotates in the 


margin that the same god is meant 
throughout, under all these different 


ful rebellion of the angels had caused. 
A friend has supplied me with some 
striking evidence that the medizval 


epithets. f 

5 They were in future to serve the 
powers of evil. 

® It will be observed that line 15 says 
that mankind were created to fill up 
the void in creation which the ungrate- 


church also held that opinion, though 
it was never elevated to the rank of an 
authorized doctrine. 
7 See note 4. This is another epithet. 
8 The total number of the gods is, I 
believe, elsewhere given as 5,000. 


LEGEND OF THE TOWER OF BABEL 233 


legend in his work on Chaldean Genesis, and I have published 
the text and translation in the fifth volume of “ Transactions 
of the Society of Biblical Archeology.” 


LEGEND OF THE TOWER OF BABEL 


COLUMN I 


I’. 2.72 them-the father; 
2 (The thoughts) of his heart were evil 
the father of all the gods? he turned from. 
4 (The thoughts) of his heart were evil * 
5 . Babylon corruptly to sin went and 
6 small and great mingled on the mound.‘ 
7 .' Babylon corruptly to sin went and 
8 small and great mingled on the mound. 


COLUMN II 


The King of the holy mound® . . . 

In front and Anu lifted up)... :* 

to the good god hisfather . . . 

Then hisheartalso . . . 

which carriedacommand .. . 

At that time aiso. 04/303 

Detect apy 2). 

Davkina. 

g Their (work) all day they founded 

10 to their stronghold? in the night 

II entirely an end he made. 

12 In his anger also the secret counsel he poured out 
13 to scatter (abroad) his face he set 

14 he gave a command to make strange their speech ° 
15. . .* their progress he impeded 

YOU.) ct Ce eee 


CON An RW ND & 


(Column III is so broken only a few words remain, so I have 
omitted it.) 


1 Lacune. 5 A title of Anu. : 
2A title of Anu. ® All these broken lines relate to 
® Refers to the king who caused the council of gods? 
ert oe to sin. ‘ 7 The tower. 
*The verb used here is the same as 8 Uttaccira - melic- su- nu,” “ make 
in Gen. xi. 7,4 5. hostile their council.” 


® Lacune. 


234 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


COLUMN Iv’° 
1 In (that day) 
2 heablew canis 8 
3 For future Sane the mountain i 
4 Nu-nam-nir* went .. 
5 Like heaven and earth he spake . . 
6 Hisi ways they wents ani? 
7 Violently they fronted against him ? 
8 He saw them and to the earth (descended) 
g When a stop he did not make 


10 of the gods' .... .? 
11 Against the gods they pevelise 
12 ane VIOLENCE 


13 Violently they wept foe Hee 7 
14 very much they wept. 
15 And in the midst 


(The rest is wanting.) 


AN ACCADIAN PENITENTIAL PSALM 
TRANSLATED BY Rev. A. H. Sayce, M.A. 


HE following psalm for remission of sins is remarkable 
alike for its deeply spiritual tone and for its antiquity. 

As it is written in Accadian, its composition must be 
referred to a date anterior to the seventeenth century B.c., 
when that language became extinct. An Assyrian interlinear 
translation is attached to most of the lines; some, however, 
are left untranslated. The tablet is unfortunately broken in 
the middle, causing a lacuna in the text. Similarities will be 
noticed between the language of the psalm and that of the 
Psalms of the Old Testament, and one passage reminds us 
strongly of the words of Christ in St. Matthew xviii. 22. 
Seven, it must be remembered, was a sacred number among 
the Accadians. Accadian poetry was characterized by a 
parallelism of ideas and clauses; and as this was imitated, both 


e acune. 2 The builders continued to build. 
Relates to os destruction of the ’ Lamentations of the gods for the 
tower by a stor Babylonians. 


1The god of we no rule,” or lawless- 
ness. 


—_—aA 


AN ACCADIAN PENITENTIAL PSALM 235 


by the Assyrians and by the Jews, the striking resemblance 
between the form of Accadian and Hebrew poetry can be ac- 
counted for. 

Some of the lines in the middle of the psalm have been pre- 
viously translated by Mr. Fox Talbot, in the “ Transactions 
of the Society of Biblical Archeology,” Vol. II, p. 60, and 
Prof. Schrader in his “ Héllenfahrt der Istar,” pp. 90-95. 

A copy of the text is given in the fourth volume of the 
“Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia,” plate Io. 


An ACCADIAN PENITENTIAL PSALM 


OBVERSE OF TABLET 


1 The heart of my Lord? was wroth: to his place may he 
return. 

2 From the man that (sinned) unknowingly to his place may 
(my) god return. 

3 From him that (sinned) unknowingly to her place may 
(the) goddess return. 

4 May God who knoweth (that) he knew not to his place 
return. 

5 May the goddess? who knoweth (that) he knew not to 
her place return. 

6 May the heart of my god to his place return. 

7 May the heart of my goddess to his place return. 

8 May my god and my goddess (unto their place) return. 

g May god (unto his place) return. 

10 May the goddess (unto her place return). 

11 The transgression (that I committed my god) knew it. 

12 The transgression (that I committed my goddess knew it). 

13 The holy name (of my god I profaned?). 

14 The holy name (of my goddess I profaned?). 


(The next three lines are obliterated.) 


18 The waters of the sea (the waters of my tears) do I drink. 

19 That which was forbidden by my god with my mouth [ ate. 

20 That which was forbidden by my goddess in my ignorance 
I trampled upon. 


1 Literally, ‘‘ of my lord his heart.” 
The Accadian throughout has the word *‘ mother ”’ before “ goddess.” 


236 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


OBVERSE 
21 O my Lord, my transgression (is) great, many (are) my 
sins. 
22 O my god, my transgression (is) great, my sins (are 
many ). 
23 O my goddess, my transgression (is) great, my sins (are 
many ). 


24 O my god that knowest (that) I knew not, my trans- 
gression (is) great, my sins (are many). 

25 O my goddess, that knowest (that) I knew not, my trans- 
gression (is) great, my sins (are many). 

26 The transgression (that) I committed I knew not. 

27 The sin (that) I sinned I knew not. 

28 The forbidden thing did I eat. 

29 The forbidden thing did I trample upon. 

30 My Lord in the wrath of his heart has punished me. 

31 God in the strength of his heart has overpowered me. 

32 The goddess upon me has laid affliction and in pain has set 
me. 

33 God who knew, (though) I knew not, hath pierced me. 

34. The goddess who knew (though) I knew not hath caused 
darkness. 

35 I lay on the ground and no man seized me by the hand.’ 

36 I wept,* and my palms none took. 


REVERSE OF TABLET 


I cried aloud; there was none that would hear me. 

I am in darkness (and) trouble: * I lifted not myself up. 
To my god my (distress) I referred; my prayer I addressed. 
The feet of my goddess I embraced. 

To (my) god, who knew (though) I knew not, (my prayer) 
I addressed. 

6 To (my) goddess, who knew (though I knew not, my 
prayer) I addressed. 


mRW Yb AS 


(The next four lines are lost.) 


11 How long O my god (shall I suffer?). 
12 How ene O my goddess (shall I suffer ?). 
8 Accadian, “extended the hand.” 6 Or more literally, 3 to fit as 


« Accadian, ‘in i. ate of the verb that follows means ne’s 
eye] I pan till myself. self up so as to face another.” 


13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
19 
20 


21 


22 
23 


24 
25 
26 
27 
28 


29 


30 


31 
32 
33 


AN ACCADIAN PENITENTIAL PSALM 237 


REVERSE 

How long O my god, who knewest (though) I knew not, 
shall (thy) strength (oppress me?). 

How long O my goddess, who knewest (though) I knew 
not, shall thy heart (be wroth?). 

Of mankind thou writest the number and there is none that 
knoweth. 

Of mankind the name (that) is fully proclaimed how can I 
know? 

Whether it be afflicted or whether it be blessed there is 
none that knoweth. 

O Lord, thy servant thou dost not restore.® 

In the waters of the raging flood seize his hand. 

The sin (that) he has sinned to blessedness bring back. 
The transgression he has committed let the wind carry 
away. 

My manifold affliction like a garment destroy. 

O my god, seven times seven (are my) transgressions, my 
transgressions are before (me). 

(To be repeated) 10 times.7 O my goddess, seven times 
seven (are my) transgressions. 

O god who knowest (that) I knew not, seven times seven 
(are my) transgressions. 

O goddess who knowest (that) I knew not, seven times 
seven (are my) transgressions. 

My transgressions are before (me): may thy judgment 
give (me) life. 

May thy heart like the heart of the mother of the setting 
day to its place return. 

(To be repeated) 5 times.* Like the mother of the setting 
day (and) the father of the setting day to its place (may it 
return). 

For the tearful supplication of my heart 65 times let the 
name be invoked of every god.® 

Peace afterward. 

(Colophon) Like its old (copy) engraved and written. 
Country of Assur-bani-pal King of multitudes, King of 
Assyria. 


8 In the Assyrian ‘ quiet.” tA rubrical direction. ® A rubrical direction. 


238 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


THE BLACK OBELISK INSCRIPTION OF SHAL- 
MANESER II 


TRANSLATED BY Rev. A. H. Sayce, M.A. 


HIS inscription is engraved on an obelisk of black 
marble, five feet in height, found by Mr. Layard in the 
centre of the Mound at Nimroud, and now in the 

British Museum. Each of its four sides is divided into five 
compartments of sculpture representing the tribute brought 
to the Assyrian King by vassal princes, Jehu of Israel being 
among the number. Shalmaneser, whose annals and conquests 
are recorded upon it, was the son of Assur-natsir-pal, and died 
in 823 B.c., after a reign of thirty-five years. A translation of the 
inscription was one of the first achievements of Assyrian de- 
cipherment, and was made by Sir. H. Rawlinson; and Dr. 
Hincks shortly afterward (in 1851) succeeded in reading the 
name of Jehu in it. M. Oppert translated the inscription in 
his “ Histoire des Empires de Chaldée et d’Assyrie,’ and M. 
Ménant has given another rendering of it in his “ Annales des 
Rois d’Assyrie”’ (1874). A copy of the text will be found 
in Layard’s “Inscriptions in the Cuneiform Character ” 


(1851). 


BLACK OBELISK OF SHALMANESER 
FACE A 


1 Assur, the great Lord, the King of all 

2 the great gods; Anu, King of the spirits of heaven 

3 and the spirits of earth, the god, Lord of the world; Bel, 

4 the Supreme, Father of the gods, the Creator ; 

5 Hea, King of the deep, determiner of destinies, 

6 the King of crowns, drinking in brilliance; 

7 Rimmon, the crowned hero, Lord of canals;} the Sun-god 

8 the Judge of heaven and earth, the urger on of all; 

9 (Merodach), Prince of the gods, Lord of battles; Adar, 
the terrible, 

10 (Lord) of the spirits of heaven and the spirits of earth, 

the GnaE strong god; Nergal, 

1 Or, “ fertility.” 


BLACK OBELISK OF SHALMANESER 239 


11 the powerful (god), King of the battle; Nebo, the bearer 
of the high sceptre, 

12 the god, the Father above; Beltis, the wife of Bel, mother 
of the (great) gods; 

13 Istar, sovereign of heaven and earth, who the face of hero- 
ism perfectest ; 

14 the great (gods), determining destinies, making great my 
kingdom. 

15 (1 am) Shalmaneser, King of multitudes of men, prince 
(and) hero of Assur, the strong King, 

16 King of all the four zones of the Sun (and) of multitudes 
of men, the marcher over 

17 the whole world; Son of Assur-natsir-pal, the supreme 
hero, who his heroism over the gods 

18 has made good and has caused all the world? to kiss 
his feet; 


FACE B 


19 the noble offspring of Tiglath-Adar 

20 who has laid his yoke upon all lands hostile to him, and 

21 has swept (them) like a whirlwind. 

22 At the beginning of my reign, when on the throne 

23 of royalty mightily I had seated myself, the chariots 

24 of my host I collected. Into the lowlands * of the country 
of ’Sime’si 

25 I descended. The city of Aridu, the strong city 

26 of Ninni, I took. In my first year 

27 the Euphrates in its flood I crossed. To the sea of the 
setting sun * 

28 I went. My weapons on the sea I rested. Victims 

29 for my gods I took. To mount Amanus® I went up. 

30 Logs of cedar-wood and pine-wood I cut. To 

31 the country of Lallar I ascended. An image of my Royalty 
in the midst (of it) I erected. 

32 In my second year to the city of Tel-Barsip I approached. 
The cities 

33 of Akhuni the son of Adin I captured. In his city I shut 

him up. The Euphrates 
et the countries the whole of ‘That is, the Mediterranean, 


them. Namely, in sacrifice. _ 
2 Or, “the descendings.” 6“ Khamanu ” in Assyrian. 


240 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


34 in its flood I crossed. The city of Dabigu, a choice city 
of the Hittites 

35 together with the cities which (were) dependent upon it I 
captured. In my third year Akhuni 

36 the son of Adin, from the face of my mighty weapons fled, 
and the city of Tel-Barsip, 


FACE C 


37 his royal city, he fortified. The Euphrates I crossed. 

38 The city unto Assyria I restored. I took it. (The town) 
which (is) on the further side 

39 of the Euphrates which (is) upon the river ’Sagurri, which 
the Kings 

40 of the Hittites call the city of Pitru,’ 

41 for myself I took. At my return 

42 into the lowlands of the country of Alzi I descended. The 
country of Alzi I conquered. 

43 The countries of Dayaeni (and) Elam, (and) the city of 
Arzascunu, the royal city 

44 of Arame of the country of the Armenians, the country 
of Gozan (and) the country of Khupuscia. 

45 During the eponymy of Dayan-Assur from the city of 
Nineveh I departed. The Euphrates 

46 in its upper part I crossed. After Akhuni the son of Adin 
I went. 

47 The heights on the banks of the Euphrates as his strong- 
hold he made. 

48 The mountains I attacked, I captured. Akhuni with his 
gods, his chariots, 

49 his horses, his sons (and) his daughters I carried away. To 
my city Assur 

50 I brought (them). In that same year the country of Kullar 
Icrossed. To the country of Zamua 

51 of Bit-Ani I went down. The cities of MEG of the 
city of the Idians 

52 (and) Nigdima I captured. In my fifth year to the country 
of Kasyari I ascended. 

53 The strongholds I captured. Elkhitti of the Serurians (in) 
his city I shut up. His tribute 


7 Pethor in the Old Testament. 


BLACK OBELISK OF SHALMANESER 241 


54 toa large amount I received. In my sixth year to the cities 
on the banks of the river Balikhi 


FACE D 


55 I approached. Gi’ammu, their Governor, I smote. 

56 To the city of Tel-abil-akhi I descended. 

57 The Euphrates in its upper part I crossed. 

58 The tribute of the Kings of the Hittites 

59 all of them I received. In those days Rimmon-idri ® 

60 of Damascus, Irkhulina of Hamath, and the Kings 

61 of the Hittites and of the sea-coasts to the forces of each 
other 

62 trusted, and to make war and battle 

63 against me came. By the command of Assur, the great 
Lord, my Lord, 

64 with them I fought. A destruction of them I made. 

65 Their chariots, their war-carriages, their war-material® I 
took from them. 

66 20,500 of their fighting men with arrows I slew. 

67 In my seventh year to the cities of Khabini of the city of 
Tel-Abni I went. 

68 The city of Tel-Abni, his stronghold, together with the 
cities which (were) dependent on it I captured. 

69 To the head of the river, the springs of the Tigris, the 
place where the waters rise,!° I went. 

70 The weapons of Assur in the midst (of it) I rested. Sacri- 
fices for my gods I took. Feasts and rejoicing 

71 I made. An image of my Royalty of large size I con- 
structed. The laws of Assur my Lord, the records 

72 of my victories, whatsoever in the world I had done, in the 
midst of it I wrote. In the middle (of the country) I set 
(it) up. 

FACE A, base 


73, In my eighth year, Merodach-suma-iddin King of Gan- 


Dunias ? 
74 did Merodach-bila-yu’sate his foster-brother against him 
rebel; 

\ 8 This is the Ben-hadad of Scripture Or, “the place of the exit of the 
whose_personal name seems to have waters situated.” The tablet is still to 
been a edi idri be seen near the town of Egil. 

“ fitniture, of battle.” 1 That is, Chaldea. 


16 


242 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


75 strongly had he fortified (the land). To exact punish- 
ment ? 

76 against Merodach-suma-iddin I went. The city of the 
waters of the Dhurnat * I took. 

77 In my ninth campaign a second time to the land of Accad 
I went. 

78 The city of Gana-nate I besieged. Merodach-bila-yu’sate 
exceeding fear 

79 of Assur (and) Merodach overwhelmed, and to save his life 
to 

80 the mountains he ascended. After him I rode. Merodach- 
bila-yu’sate (and) the officers 

81 the rebels * who (were) with him (with) arrows I slew. 
To the great fortresses 

82 I went. Sacrifices in Babylon, Borsippa, (and) Cuthah I 
made. 

83 Thanksgivings to the great gods I offered up. To the 
country of Kaldu® I descended. Their cities I captured. 

84 The tribute of the Kings of the country of Kaldu I re- 
ceived. The greatness of my arms as far as the sea over- 
whelmed. 

85 In my tenth year for the eighth time the Euphrates I 
crossed. The cities of ’Sangara of the city of the Car- 
chemishians I captured. 

86 To the cities of Arame I approached. Arne his royal city 
with 100 of his (other) towns I captured. 

87 In my eleventh year for the ninth time the Euphrates I 
crossed. Cities to a countless number I captured. To the 
cities of the Hittites 

88 of the land of the Hamathites I went down. Eighty-nine 
cities I took. Rimmon-idri of Damascus (and) twelve of 
the Kings of the Hittites 

89 with one another’s forces strengthened themselves. A de- 
struction of them I made. In my twelfth campaign for the 
tenth time the Euphrates I crossed. 

go To the land of Pagar-khubuna I went. Their spoil I carried 
away. In my thirteenth year to the country of Yaeti I 
ascended. 

2 Or, “‘to return benefits.” 5 This is the primitive Chaldea. The 
* The Tornadotus of classical geog- Caldai or Chaldeans afterward overran 


raphers. ; abylonia and gave their name to it 
Or, “‘ the Lord of sin.” among classical writers. 


BLACK OBELISK OF SHALMANESER 243 


ys Lheir spoil I carried away. In my fourteenth year the 
country I assembled; the Euphrates I crossed. Twelve 
Kings against me had come. , 

g2 I fought. A destruction of them I made. In my fifteenth 
year among the sources of the Tigris (and) the Euphrates 
I went. An image 

93 of my Majesty in their hollows I erected. In my sixteenth 
year the waters of the Zab I crossed. To the country of 
Zimri 

94 I went. Merodach-mudammik King of the land of Zimru 
to save his life (the mountains) ascended. His treasure 

95 his army (and) his gods to Assyria I brought. Yan’su 
son of Khanban to the kingdom over them I raised.® 


FACE B, base 


96 In my seventeenth year the Euphrates I crossed. To the 
land of Amanus I ascended. Logs 
97 of cedar I cut. In my eighteenth year for the sixteenth 
time the Euphrates I crossed. Hazael 
98 of Damascus to battle came. 1,221 of his chariots, 470 of 
his war-carriages with 
99 his camp I took from him. In my nineteenth campaign for 
the eighteenth 7 time the Euphrates I crossed. To the land 
of Amanus 
100 I ascended. Logs of cedar I cut. In my 2oth year for 
the 20th time the Euphrates 
1o1 I crossed. To the land of Kahue I went down. Their 
cities I captured. Their spoil 
102 I carried off. In my 21st campaign, for the 21st time the 
Euphrates I crossed. To the cities 
103 of Hazael of Damascus I went. Four of his fortresses 
I took. The tribute of the Tyrians, 
104 the Zidonians (and) the Gebalites I received. In my 22d 
campaign for the 22d time the Euphrates 
105 I crossed. To the country of Tabalu* I went down. In 
those days (as regards) the 24 
106 Kings of the country of Tabalu their wealth I received. 
To conquer 


6 Or, “ I made.” . seventeenth time of his crossing the 
7The King counts his passage of the Euphrates. 
river on his return from Syria the ® The Tubal of the Old Testament, 


and Tibareni of classical geographers. 


244 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


107 the mines of silver, of salt and of stone for sculpture I 
went. In my 23d year 

108 the Euphrates I crossed. The city of Uetas, his strong 
city, 

109 (which belonged) to Lalla of the land of the Milidians 
I captured. The Kings of the country of Tabalu 

110 had set out. Their tribute I received. In my 24th year, 
the lower Zab 

111 I crossed. The land of Khalimmur I passed through. To 
the land of Zimru 

112 I went down. Yan’su King of the Zimri from the face 

113 of my mighty weapons fled and to save his life 

114 ascended (the mountains). The cities of ’Sikhisatakh, 
Bit-Tamul, Bit-Sacci 

115 (and) Bit-Sedi, his strong cities, I captured. His fight- 
ing men I slew. 

116 His spoil I carried away. The cities I threw down, dug 
up, (and) with fire burned. 

117 The rest of them to the mountains ascended. The peaks 
of the mountains 

118 I attacked, I captured. Their fighting men I slew. Their 
spoil (and) their goods 

119 I caused to be brought down. From the country of Zimru 
I departed. The tribute of 27 Kings 

120 of the country of Par’sua® I received. From the country 
of Par’sua I departed. To 

121 the strongholds of the country of the Amadai,!® (and) 
the countries of Arazias (and) Kharkhar I went down. 

122 The cities of Cua-cinda, Khazzanabi, Ermul, 

123 (and) Cin-ablila with the cities which were dependent 
on them I captured. Their fighting men 


FACE C, base 


124 I slew. Their spoil I carried away. The cities I threw 
down, dug up (and) burned with fire. An image of my 
Majesty 

125 in the country of Kharkhara I set up. Yan’su son of 
Khaban with his abundant treasures 

®The Parthia of classical authors. It will be observed that they have not 
10 These seem to be the Madai or yet penetrated into Media but are still 


Medes of later inscriptions. This is eastward of the Parthians. 
the first notice that we have of them. 


BLACK OBELISK OF SHALMANESER 245 


126 his gods, his sons, his daughters, his soldiers in large num- 
bers I carried off. To Assyria I brought (them). In my 
25th campaign 

127 the Euphrates at its flood I crossed. The tribute of the 
Kings of the Hittites, all of them, I received. The country 
of Amanus 

128 I traversed. To the cities of Cati of the country of the 
Kahuians I descended. The city of Timur, his strong 
city 

129 I besieged, I captured. Their fighting men I slew. Its 
spoil I carried away. The cities to a countless number I 
threw down, dug up, 

130 (and) burned with fire. On my return, the city of Muru, 
the strong city of Arame the son of Agu’si, 

131 (as) a possession for myself I took. Its entrance-space 
I marked out. A palace, the seat of my Majesty, in the 
middle (of it) I founded. 

132 In my 26th year for the seventh time the country of the 
Amanus I traversed. For the fourth time to the cities 
of Cati 

133 of the country of the Kahuians I went. The city of Tan- 
acun, the strong city of Tulca I approached. Exceeding 
fear 

134 of Assur my Lord overwhelmed him and (when) he had 
come out my feet he took. His hostages I took. Silver, 
gold, 

135 iron, oxen, (and) sheep, (as) his tribute I received. From 
the city of Tanacun I departed. To the country of 
Lamena 

136 I went. The men collected themselves. An inaccessible 
mountain they occupied. The peak of the mountain I 
assailed, 

137 I took. Their fighting men I slew. Their spoil, their 
oxen, their sheep, from the midst of the mountain I 
brought down. 

138 Their cities I threw down, dug up (and) burned with 
fire. To the city of Khazzi I went. My feet they took. 
Silver (and) gold, 

139 their tribute, I received. Cirri, the brother of Cati to the 
sovereignty over them 


246 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


140 I set. On my return to the country of Amanus I ascended. 
Beams of cedar I cut, 

141 I removed, to my city Assur’ I brought. In my 27th 
year the chariots of my armies I mustered. Dayan-Assur 

142 the Tartan,’ the Commander of the wide-spreading army, 
at the head of my army to the country of Armenia I 
urged, 

143 I sent. To Bit-Zamani he descended. Into the low 
ground to the city of Ammas he went down. The river 
Arzane he crossed. 

144 ’Seduri of the country of the Armenians heard, and to 
the strength of his numerous host 

145 he trusted; and to make conflict (and) battle against me 
he came. With him I fought. 

146 A destruction of him I made. With the flower of his 
youth * his broad fields I filled. In my 28th year 

147 when in the city of Calah I was stopping news had been 
brought (me, that) men of the Patinians 

148 Lubarni their Lord had slain (and) ’Surri (who was) not 
heir to the throne to the kingdom had raised. 

149 Dayan-Assur the Tartan, the Commander of the wide- 
spreading army at the head of my host (and) my camp * 

150 I urged, I sent. The Euphrates in its flood he crossed. 
In the city of Cinalua his royal city 

I5I a slaughter he made. (As for) ’Surri the usurper, ex- 
ceeding fear of Assur my Lord 

152 overwhelmed him, and the death of his destiny he went.® 
The men of the country of the Patinians from before the 
sight of my mighty weapons 


FACE D, base 


153 fled, and the children of ’Surri together with the soldiers, 
the rebels, (whom) they had taken they delivered to me. 

154 Those soldiers on stakes I fixed. ’Sa’situr of the country 
of Uzza my feet took. To the kingdom 

155 over them I placed (him). Silver, gold, lead, bronze, 


1The Ellasar of Genesis, now Kalah The word properly means “ bag- 
Shergat. ‘ f i ga e,” and sometimes signifies “‘ stand- 
3“ Turtanu’”’ (“chief prince’) in ard,’’ which may be the translation 


. ere. 
Or, “the chiefs of his young war- 5 That is, he died as was fated. 


BLACK OBELISK OF SHALMANESER 247 


iron, (and) the horns of wild bulls to a countless number 
I received. 

156 An image of my Majesty of great size I made. In the 
city of Cinalua his royal city in the temple of his gods I 
set it up. In 

157 my 29th year (my) army (and) camp I urged, I sent. 
To the country of Cirkhi® I ascended. Their cities I 
threw down, 

158 dug up, (and) burned with fire. Their country like a 
thunderstorm I swept. Exceeding 

159 fear over them I cast. In my 30th year when in the city 
of Calah I was stopping, Dayan-Assur 

160 the Tartan, the Commander of the wide-spreading army 
at the head of my army I urged, I sent. The river Zab 

161 he crossed. To the midst of the cities of the city of 
Khupusca he approached. The tribute of Datana 

162 of the city of the Khupuscians I received. From the midst 
of the cities of the Khupuscians 

163 I departed.? To the midst of the cities of Maggubbi of 
the country of the Madakhirians he approached. The 
tribute 

164 I received. From the midst of the cities of the country 
of the Madakhirians he departed. To the midst of the 
cities of Udaci 

165 of the country of the Mannians he approached. Udaci of 
the country of the Mannians from before the sight of my 
mighty weapons 

166 fled, and the city of Zirta, his royal city, he abandoned. 
To save his life he ascended (the mountains). 

167 After him I pursued. His oxen, his sheep, his spoil, to 
a countless amount I brought back. His cities 

168 I threw down, dug up, (and) burned with fire. From the 
country of the Mannians* he departed. To the cities of 
Sulu’sunu of the country of Kharru 

169 he approached. The city of Mairsuru, his royal city, to- 
gether with the cities which depended on it he captured. 
(To) Sulu’sunu 

170 together with his sons mercy I granted. To his country 


®The mountainous country near the 7 That is in the person of his com- 
sources of the Tigris. mander-in-chief, Dayan-Assur. 
8 The modern Van. 


248 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


I restored him. A payment (and) tribute of horses I im’ 
posed. 

171 My yoke upon him I placed. To the city of Surdira he 
approached. The tribute of Arta-irri 

172 of the city of the Surdirians I received. To the country 
of Par’sua® I went down. The tribute of the Kings 

173 of the country of Par’sua I received. (As for) the rest 
of the country of Par’sua which did not reverence Assur, 
its cities 

174 I captured. Their spoil, their plunder to Assyria I 
brought. In my 31st year, the second time, the cyclical- 
feast 

175 of Assur and Rimmon I had inaugurated.?° At the time 
while I was stopping in the city of Calah, Dayan-Assur 

176 the Tartan, the Commander of my wide-spreading army, 
at the head of my army (and) my camp I urged, I sent. 

177 To the cities of Data of the country of Khupusca he ap- 
proached. The tribute I received. 

178 To the city of Zapparia, a stronghold of the country of 
Muzatsira, I went. The city of Zapparia together with 

179 forty-six cities of the city of the Muzatsirians I captured. 
Up to the borders of the country of the Armenians 

180 I went. Fifty of their cities I threw down, dug up (and) 
burned with fire. To the country of Guzani? I went down. 
The tribute 

181 of Upu of the country of the Guzanians, of the country 
of the Mannians, of the country of the Buririans, of the 
country of the Kharranians,? 

182 of the country of the Sasganians, of the country of the 
Andians,? (and) of the country of the Kharkhanians, 
oxen, sheep, (and) horses 

183 trained to the yoke I received. To the cities of the country 
Of) oi. ol Lowent downs) iL he) city OF Perna 

184 (and) the city of Sitivarya, its strongholds, together with 
22 cities which depended upon it, I threw down, dug up 


® Parthia. shows that a cycle of thirty years was 
10 This refers to his assuming the in existence. 
eponymy a second time after complet- 1The Gozan_of the Old Testament. 
ing a reign of thirty years. At this 2 Haran or Harran in the Old Testa- 
period the Assyrian kings assumed the ment; called Carrhe by the classical 
eponymy on first ascending the throne, dig gin een L 
and the fact that Shalmaneser took the 8 Andia was afterward incorporated 


same office again in his thirty-first year into Assyria by Sargon. 


BLACK OBELISK OF SHALMANESER 249 


185 (and) burned with fire. Exceeding fear over them I cast. 
To the cities of the Parthians he went. 

186 The cities of Bustu, Sala-khamanu (and) Cini-khamanu, 
fortified towns, together with 23 cities 

187 which depended upon them I captured. Their fighting- 
men I slew. Their spoil I carried off. To the country of 
Zimri I went down. 

188 Exceeding fear of Assur (and) Merodach overwhelmed 
them. Their cities they abandoned. To 

189 inaccessible mountains they ascended. Two hundred and 
fifty of their cities I threw down, dug up (and) burned 
with fire. 

190 Into the lowground of Sime’si at the head of the country 
of Khalman I went down. 


THE EPIGRAPHS ACCOMPANYING THE SCULPTURES 


1 The tribute of “Su’a of the country of the Guzanians: 
silver, gold, lead, articles of bronze, sceptres for the King’s 
hand, horses (and) camels with double backs: I received. 

11 The tribute of Yahua* son of Khumri®: silver, gold, 
bowls of gold, vessels of gold, goblets of gold, pitchers 
of gold, lead, sceptres for the King’s hand, (and) staves: 
I received. 

tr The tribute of the country of Muzri*: camels with double 
backs, an ox of the river ’Saceya,’ horses, wild asses, ele- 
phants, (and) apes: I received. 

Iv The tribute of Merodach-pal-itstsar of the country of the 
*Sukhians ®: silver, gold, pitchers of gold, tusks of the 
wild bull, staves, antimony, garments of many colors, 
(and) linen: I received. 

v The tribute of Garparunda of the country of the Patinians: 
silver, gold, lead, bronze, gums, articles of bronze, tusks 
of wild bulls, (and) ebony ®: I received. 


4 Jehu. to mean a rhinoceros. Lenormant, 
5 Omri. however, identifies it with the Yak. 
® This is the Armenian Muzri, not ® Nomadic tribes in the southwest of 
Egypt. Babylonia. 
This would seem from the sculpture ®*The word means literally ‘ pieces 


of strong wood.” 


250 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


INSCRIPTION OF NEBUCHADNEZZAR 
TRANSLATED BY Rev. J. M. RopweE tt, M.A. 


ABYLONIAN inscriptions are by no means so re- 
B plete with interest as the Assyrian. The latter em- 
brace the various expeditions in which the Assyrian 
monarchs were engaged, and bring us into contact with the 
names and locality of rivers, cities, and mountain-ranges, with 
contemporary princes in Judea and elsewhere, and abound in 
details as to domestic habits, civil usages, and the implements 
and modes of warfare. But the Babylonian inscriptions refer 
mainly to the construction of temples, palaces, and other public 
buildings, and at the same time present especial difficulties in 
their numerous architectural terms which it is often impossible 
to translate with any certainty. They are, however, interesting 
as records of the piety and religious feelings of the sovereigns 
of Babylon, and as affording numerous topographical notices 
of that famous city; while the boastful language of the in- 
scription will often remind the reader of Nebuchadnezzar’s 
words in Dan. iv. 30: “Is not this great Babylon, that I have 
built for the house of the kingdom, by the might of my power, 
and for the honor of my majesty?”’ Compare column vii, line 
32. 
The reign of Nebuchadnezzar extended from B.c. 604 to 561. 
In B.c. 598 he laid siege to Jerusalem (2 Kings xxiv.) and 
made Jehoiachin prisoner, and in 588 again captured the city, 
and carried Zedekiah, who had rebelled against him, captive 
to Babylon (2 Kings xxv.). Josephus gives an account of his 
expeditions against Tyre and Egypt, which are also mentioned 
with many details in Ezek. xxvii.-xxix. 

The name Nebuchadnezzar, or more accurately Nebuchad- 
rezzar (Jer. xxi. 2, 7, etc.), is derived from the Jewish Script- 
ures. But in the inscriptions it reads Nebo-kudurri-ussur, 7.¢., 
“may Nebo protect the crown”; a name analogous to that of 
his father Nebo(Nabu)-habal-ussur. (‘‘ Nebo protect the 
son ’’) and to that of Belshazzar, 1.e., “‘ Bel protect the prince.” 
The phonetic writing of Nebuchadnezzar is “ An-pa-sa-du- 
sis,’ each of which syllables has been identified through 
the syllabaries. The word “ kudurri” is probably the "m3 of 


INSCRIPTION OF NEBUCHADNEZZAR 251 


Esther vi. 8, and the xidapis of the Greeks. The inscrip- 
tions of which a translation follows was found at Babylon by 
Sir Harford Jones Bridges, and now forms part of the India 
House Collection. It is engraved on a short column of black 
basalt, and is divided into ten columns, containing 619 lines. 

It may be worth while to remark that in the name given to 
the prophet Daniel, Belteshazzar, 1.e., Balat-su-ussur (“ pre- 
serve thou his life’), and in Abednego (“ servant of Nebo’’), 
we have two of the component parts of the name of Nebuchad- 
nezzar himself. 


INSCRIPTION OF NEBUCHADNEZZAR 


COLUMN I 
1 Nebuchadnezzar 
2 King of Babylon, 
3 glorious Prince, 
4 worshipper of Marduk, 
5 adorer of the lofty one, 
6 glorifier of Nabu, 
7 the exalted, the possessor of intelligence, 
8 who the processions of their divinities 
9 hath increased ; 


Io a worshipper of their Lordships, 
II firm, not to be destroyed ; 

12 who for the embellishment 

13 of Bit-Saggatu and Bit-Zida * 

14 appointed days hath set apart, and 
15 the shrines of Babylon 

16 and of Borsippa 

17 hath steadily increased ; 

18 exalted Chief, Lord of peace, 

19 embellisher of Bit-Saggatu and Bit-Zida,. 
20 the valiant son 

21 of Nabopolassar 

22 King of Babylon am I. 


23 When he, the Lord god my maker made me, 


1Two of the principal temples of epithet, ‘* Temple of his power.” Dr. 
Babylon. The former occurs below, pepe always renders it “ la Pyramide 
Col. ii. 40, where it is followed by the et la Tour.” 


252 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


24 the god Merodach, he deposited 

25 my germ in my mother’s (womb): 

26 then being conceived 

27 I was made. 

28 Under the inspection of Assur my judge 

29 the processions of the god I| enlarged, 

30 (namely) of Merodach great Lord, the god my maker. 
31 His skilful works 

32 highly have I glorified; 

33 and of Nebo his eldest son 

34 exalter of My Royalty 

35 the processions (in honor of)? his exalted deity 
36 I firmly established. 

37 With all my heart firmly 

38 (in) worship of their deities I uprose 

39 in reverence for Nebo their Lord. 


40 Whereas Merodach, great Lord, 

41 the head of My ancient Royalty, 

42 hath empowered me over multitudes of men, 

43 and (whereas) Nebo bestower of thrones in heaven and 
earth, 

44 for the sustentation of men, 

45 a sceptre of righteousness 

46 hath caused my hand to hold; 

47 now I, that sacred way 

48 for the resting-place of their divinities, 

49 for a memorial of all their names, 

50 as a worshipper of Nebo, Yav and Istar, 

51 for Merodach my Lord I strengthened. 

52 Its threshold I firmly laid, and 

53 my devotion of heart he accepted, and 

54 him did I proclaim 

55. . . Lord of all beings, and’ 

56 as Prince of the lofty house, and 

57 thou, (O Nebuchadnezzar) hast proclaimed the name of 
him 

58 who has been beneficent unto thee. 


2 Literally, “the goings.’”’ Compare ? Of this line Mr. Norris (Dict., p. 
Ps. Ixviii. 24: ‘“‘ They have seen thy 166) states “that he cannot suggest any 
goings, O God,” i.e., processions. rendering.” 


INSCRIPTION OF NEBUCHADNEZZAR 253 


59 His name, (O god,) thou wilt preserve, 

60 the path of righteousness thou hast prescribed to him. 

61 I, a Prince, and thy worshipper 

62 am the work of thy hand; 

63 thou hast created me, and * 

64 the empire over multitudes of men 

65 thou hast assigned me, 

66 according to thy favor, O Lord, 

67 which thou hast accorded 

68 to them all.® 

69 May thy lofty Lordship be exalted! 

70 in the worship of thy divinity 

71 may it subsist! in my heart 

72 may it continue, and my life which to thee is devoted 
(Continued on Column IT.) 


COLUMN II 
I mayest thou bless! 


He, the Chief, the honorable, 

the Prince of the gods, the great Merodach, 
my gracious Lord, heard 

and received my prayer ; 

he favored it, and by his exalted power, 
reverence for his deity 

placed he in my heart: 

to bear his tabernacle 

10 he hath made my heart firm, 

II with reverence for thy power, 

12 for exalted service, 

13 greatly and eternally. 


CONT Aw fh W WH 


\© 


14 The foundation of his temple it was 

15 which from the upper waters 

16 to the lower waters 

17 in a remote way, 

18 in a spot exposed to winds, 

Ig in a place whose pavements had been broken, 
20 low, dried up, 


“Tt seems as if the hand were addressed. 
5].e, “in making me their ruler.” 


254 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


21 a rugged way, 
22 a difficult path, 
23 I extended. 
24 The disobedient I stirred up, 
25 and I collected the poor and 
26 gave full directions (for the work) and 
27 in numbers I supported them. 
28 Wares and ornaments 
29 for the women I brought forth, 
30 silver, molten gold, precious stones, 
31 metal, wmritgana and cedar woods, 
32 (however their names be written) 
33 a splendid abundance, 
34 the produce of mountains, 
35 sea clay,® 
36 beautiful things in abundance, 
37 riches and sources of joy, 
38 for my city Babylon, 
39 into his presence have I brought 
40 for Bit-Saggatu 
41 the temple of his power, 
42 ornaments for Dakan‘ 


43 Bit-Kua, the shrine 

44 of Merodach, Lord of the house of the gods, 
45 I have made conspicuous with fine linen § 
46 and its seats 

47 with splendid gold, 

48 as for royalty and deity, 

49 with lapis lazuli and alabaster blocks ® 

50 I carefully covered them over; 

51 a gate of passage, the gate Beautiful,’ 

52 and the gate of Bit-Zida and Bit-Saggatu 

53 I caused to be made brilliant as the sun. 

54 A fulness of the treasures of countries I accumulated ; * 


6 Mr. Norris conjectures ‘‘ amber.”’ 10 Compare the Beautiful Gate of the 

T Dagon. J ewish emple. 

8 ** Sassanis.”’ The root is Mabie 1Mr. Norris in his Dictionary pro- 
identical with the Hebrew shesh, fesses his inability to master_the first 

“fine linen ’’; thus in Ex. xxvi. I! words of this line, p. 580. The same 
‘* Thou shalt make the tabernacle with remark applies to line 58. The above 
ten curtains of fine twined linen.’ rendering is suggested to me by Mr. 


® These are found still in the ruins G. Smith. 
of Babylon. 


INSCRIPTION OF NEBUCHADNEZZAR 255 


55 around the city it was placed as an ornament, 

56 when at the festival of Lilmuku at the beginning of the 
year, 

57 on the eighth day (and) eleventh day, 

58 the divine Prince, Deity of heaven and earth, the Lord 
god, 

59 they raised within it. 

60 (The statue) of the god El, the beauty of the sphere, 

61 reverently they bring; 

62 treasure have they displayed before it, 

63 a monument to lasting days, 

64 a monument of my life. 


65 They also placed within it 
(Continued on Column III.) 


COLUMN III 


1 his altar, an altar of Royalty; 
2 an altar of Lordship, 
3 (for) the Chief of the gods, the Prince Merodach, 
4 whose fashion the former Prince 
5 had fashioned in silver, 
6 with bright gold accurately weighed out 
7 I overlaid. 
8 Beautiful things for the temple Bit-Saggatu 
Q seen at its very summit, 
10 the shrine of Merodach, with statues and marbles 
11 I embellished 
I2 as the stars of heaven. 
13 The fanes of Babylon 
14 I built, I adorned. 
15 Of the house, the foundation of the heaven and earth, 
16 I reared the summit 
17 with blocks of noble lapis lazuli: 
18 to the construction of Bit-Saggatu 
19 my heart uplifted me; 
20 in abundance I wrought 
21 the best of my pine trees 
22 which from Lebanon 
23 together with tall Babil-wood I brought, 


256 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


24 for the portico of the temple of Merodach: 

25 the shrine of his Lordship 

26 I made good, and interior walls 

27 with pine and tall cedar woods: 

28 the portico of the temple of Merodach, 

29 with brilliant gold I caused to cover, 

30 the lower thresholds, the cedar awnings, 

31 with gold and precious stones 

32 I embellished: 

33 in the erection of Bit-Saggatu 

34 I proceeded: I supplicated 

35 the King of gods, the Lord of Lords: 

36 in Borsippa, the city of his loftiness, 

37, 38 I raised Bit-Zida: a durable house 

39 in the midst thereof I caused to be made. 

40 With silver, gold, precious stones, 

41 bronze, wummakana and pine woods, 

42 those thresholds I completed: 

43 the pine wood portico 

44 of the shrine of Nebo 

45 with gold I caused to cover, 

46 the pine wood portico of the gate of the temple of 
Merodach 

47 I caused to overlay with bright silver. 

48 The bulls and columns of the gate of the shrine 

49 the thresholds, the sigari of ri-wood, conduits 

50 of Babnaku wood and their statues 

51 with cedar wood awnings 

52 of lofty building, 

53 and silver, I adorned. 

54 The avenues of the shrine 

55 and the approach to the house, 

56 of conspicuous brick 

57 sanctuaries in its midst 

58 with perforated silver work. 

59 Bulls, columns, doorways, 

60, 61 in marble beautifully I built; 

62,63 I erected a shrine and with rows 

64 of wreathed work I filled it: 

65 the fanes of Borsippa 


INSCRIPTION OF NEBUCHADNEZZAR 257 


66 I made and embellished: 

67 the temple of the seven spheres 
68. 2h 

69 with bricks of noble lapis lazuli 
70 I reared its summit: 

71 the tabernacle of Nahr-kanul 


72 the chariot of his greatness 
(Continued on Column IV.) 


COLUMN IV 


1 the tabernacle, the shrine Lilmuku, 
2 the festival of Babylon, 

3,4 his pageant of dignity 

5 within it, I caused to decorate 

6 with beryls and stones. 


7 A temple for sacrifices, the lofty citadel 
8 of Bel and Merodach, god of gods, 

9g a threshold of joy and supremacy 

IO among angels and spirits, 

II with the stores of Babylon, 

12 with cement and brick, 

13 like a mountain I erected. 


14 A great temple of Ninharissi * 

15 in the centre of Babylon 

16 to the great goddess the mother who created me, 

17 in Babylon I made. 

18 To Nebo of lofty intelligence 

19 who hath bestowed (on me) the sceptre of justice, 

20 to preside over all peoples, 

21 a temple of rule over men, and a site for this his temple 
22,23 in Babylon, of cement and brick 

24 the fashion I fashioned. 


25,26 To the Moon-god, the strengthener of my hands 
27 a large house of alabaster as his temple 
28 in Babylon I made. 


2 Lacuna. 8 Wife of the sun. 
17 


258 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


29 To the sun, the judge supreme 

30 who perfects good in my body, 

31 a house for that guide of men, even his house, 
32, 33 in Babylon, of cement and brick, 

34 skilfully did I make. 


35 To the god Yav, establisher of fertility 
36 in my land, Bit-Numkan as his temple 
37 in Babylon I built. 


38 To the goddess Gula, the regulator 

39 and benefactress of my life, 

40 Bit-Samit, and Bit-haris the lofty, 

41, 42 as fanes in Babylon, in cement and brick 
43 strongly did I build. 


44 To the divine Lady of Bit ‘Anna, 

45 my gracious mistress, 

46 Bit-Kiku in front of her house 

47 so as to strengthen the wall of Babylon 
48 I skilfully constructed. 


49,50 To Ninip the breaker of the sword of my foes 
51 a temple in Borsippa I made; 

52 and to the Lady Gula * 

53 the beautifier of my person ° 

54 Bit-Gula, Bit-Tila, Bit-Ziba-Tila, 

55 her three temples 

56 in Borsippa I erected: 

57 to the god Yav who confers 

58 the fertilizing rain upon my land, 

59, 60 his house (also) in Borsippa I strongly built: 
61 to the Moon-god who upholds 

62 the fulness of my prosperity 

63 Bit-ti-Anna ® as his temple, 

64 on the mound near Bit-Ziba 

65 I beautifully constructed: 

66,67 Imgur-Bel and Nimetti-Belkit 


*In 1 Mich. iv. 5. Gula is said to command restored by Assurbanipal to 
be the wife of the southern sun. the temple of Bit-Anna after an absence 
5 Or, ‘the favorer of, my praises.” in Elam of 1,635 years. See Smith’s 
® The goddess Anna is identical with ‘* Assurb.,” pp. 234, 235. 
the Nana whose image was by her own 


INSCRIPTION OF NEBUCHADNEZZAR 259 


68 the great walls of Babylon, 

O69 st.) aot, 

70 which Nabopolassar 

71 King, King of Babylon, the father who begat me, 

72 had commenced but not completed their beauty 
(Continued on Column V.) 


COLUMN V 

I Its fosse he dug 

2 and of two high embankments 

3 in cement and brick 

4 he finished the mass: 

5,6 an embankment for pathways he made, , 

7,8 Buttresses of brick beyond the Euphrates 

9, 10 he constructed, but did not complete: 
Tira tne: rest: rom bas 

13 the best of their lands I accumulated: 
14 a place for sacrifice, as ornament, 

15,16 as far as Aibur-sabu ® near Babylon 

17 opposite the principal gate 

18 with brick and durmina-turda stone 

I9 as a shrine of the great Lord, the god Merodach 
20 I built as a house for processions. 
21, 22 I his eldest son, the chosen of his heart, 
23, 24 Imgur-Bel and Nimetti-Bel 
25, 26 the great walls of Babylon, completed: 
27 buttresses for the embankment of its fosse, 
28 and two long embankments 
29 with cement and brick I built, and 

30 with the embankment my father had made 

31, 32 I joined them; and to the city for protection 
33, 34 I brought near an embankment of enclosure 
35 beyond the river, westward. 

36 The wall of Babylon 

37, 38 I carried round Aibur-sabu 

39 in the vicinity of Babylon: 

40 for a shrine of the great Lord Merodach 

41,42 the whole enclosure I filled (with buildings) 
43 with brick made of kamina-turda stone 


7 Lacuna. 8 Lacuna. ® An ornamental piece of water near Babylon. 


260 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


44 and brick of stone cut out of mountains. 
45,46 Aibur-sabu from the High gate, 

47,48 as far as Istar-Sakipat I made, 

49,50 for a shrine for his divinity I made good, 
51 and with what my father had made 

52, 53 I joined, and built it; 

54, 55, 56 and the access to Istar-Sakipat I made, 
57,58 which is Imgur-Bel and Nimetti-Bel, 

59 the great gates, the whole temple of the gods, 
60, 61 in completeness near to Babylon 

62 I brought down; 

63,64 the materials of those great gates 


65 I put together and 
(Continued on Column VJ.) 


COLUMN VI 


1 their foundations opposite to the waters 

2,3 in cement and brick I founded, 

4 and of strong stone of zamat-hat, 

5 bulls and images, 

6 the building of its interior 

7 skilfully I constructed: 

8,9, 10 tall cedars for their porticos I arranged, 
11 1kkt wood, cedar wood, 

I2 with coverings of copper, 

13 on domes and arches: 

14,15 work in bronze I overlaid substantially on its gates, 
16,17 bulls of strong bronze and molten images 
18 for their thresholds, strongly. 

19 Those large gates 
20 for the admiration of multitudes of men 
21 with wreathed work I filled: 
22 the abode of Imzu-Bel 
23 the invincible castle of Babylon, 
24 which no previous King had effected, 
25 4,000 cubits complete, 

26 the walls of Babylon 

27 whose banner is invincible, 

28 as a high fortress by the ford of the rising sun, 
29 I carried round Babylon. 


INSCRIPTION OF NEBUCHADNEZZAR 261 


30 Its fosse I dug and its mass 

31 with cement and brick 

32, 33 I reared up and a tall tower at its side 

34 like a mountain I built. 

35, 360 The great gates whose walls I constructed 
37 with :kki and pine woods and coverings of copper 
38 I overlaid them, 

39 to keep off enemies from the front 

40 of the wall of unconquered Babylon. 

41,42 Great waters like the might of the sea 

43 I brought near in abundance 

44 and their passing by 

45 was like the passing by of the great billows 
46 of the Western ocean: 

47,48 passages through them were none, 
49,50 but heaps of earth I heaped up, 

51 and embankments of brickwork 

52 I caused to be constructed. 

53,54 The fortresses I skilfully strengthened 

55 and the city of Babylon 

56 I fitted to be a treasure-city. 

57 The handsome pile 

58, 59 the fort of Borsippa I made anew: 

60, 61 its fosse I dug out and in cement and brick 
62 I reared up its mass 


63 Nebuchadnezzar 
(Continued on Column VJ1.) 


COLUMN VII 
1 King of Babylon 
2 whom Merodach, the Sun, the great Lord, 
3 for the holy places of his city 
4 Babylon hath called, am I: 
5 and Bit-Saggatu and Bit-Zida 
6 like the radiance of the Sun I restored: 
7 the fanes of the great gods 
8 I completely brightened. 
g At former dates from the days of old 
tO to the: daya vi.102.0) 3? 


2 Lacuna. 


262 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


x1 of Nabopolassar King of Babylon 

12 the exalted father who begat me, 

I3 many a Prince who preceded me 

14,15 whose names El had proclaimed for royalty 
16 for the city, my city, the festivals of these gods 
17 in the perfected places 

18 a princely temple, a large temple did they make 
19 and erected it as their dwelling-places. 

20, 21 Their spoils in the midst they accumulated, 
22 they heaped up, and their treasures 

23 for the festival Lilmuku 

24 of the good Lord, Merodach god of gods 

25 they transferred into the midst of Babylon; 

26, 27 when at length Merodach who made me for royalty 
28 and the god Nero his mighty son, 

29 committed his people to me 

30 as precious lives. 

31 Highly have I exalted their cities; 

32 (but) above Babylon and Borsippa 

33 I have not added a city 

34 in the realm of Babylonia 

35 as a city of my lofty foundation. 


36 A great temple, a house of admiration for men, 

37, 38 a vast construction, a lofty pile, 

39, 40 a palace of My Royalty for the land of Babylon, 
41 in the midst of the city of Babylon 

42,43 from Imgur Bel to Libit-higal 

44 the ford of the Sun-rise, 

45 from the bank of the Euphrates 

46 as far as Aibur-sabu 

47 which Nabopolassar 

48 King of Babylon the father who begat me 

49,50 made in brick and raised up in its midst, 

51 but whose foundation was damaged 

52 by waters and floods 

53,54 at Bit-I[mli near Babylon, 

55,56 and the gates of that palace were thrown down, 
57,50 of this the structure with brickwork I repaired 
59 with its foundation and boundary wall, 


INSCRIPTION OF NEBUCHADNEZZAR 263 


60 and a depth of waters I collected: 
61,62 then opposite the waters I laid its foundation 
63 and with cement and brick 
(Continued on Column VIII.) 


COLUMN VIII 


1,2 I skilfully surrounded it; 
3, 4 tall cedars for its porticos I fitted ; 
5,6 ikki and cedar woods with layers of copper, 
7 on domes and arches 
8,9 and with bronze work, I strongly overlaid its gates 
Io with silver, gold, precious stones, 
II, 12 whatsoever they call them, in heaps; 
13 I valiantly collected spoils ; 
I4 as an adornment of the house were they arranged, 
15 and were collected within it; 
16,17 trophies, abundance, royal treasures, 
18 I accumulated and gathered together. 
19 As to the moving of My Royalty 
20 to any other city, 
21 there has not arisen a desire: 
22 among any other people 
23 no royal palace have I built: 
24 the merchandise and treasures of my kingdom 
25, 26, 27 I did not deposit within the provinces of Babylon: 
28 a pile for my residence 
29, 30 to grace My Royalty was not found: 
31 Therefore with reverence for Merodach my Lord, 
32, 33 the exterior and interior in Babylon 
34 as his treasure city 
35, 36 and for the elevation of the abode of My Royalty 
37 his shrine I neglected not: 
38 its weak parts which were not completed, 
39 its compartments that were not remembered, 
40 as a securely compacted edifice 
41, 42 I dedicated and set up as a preparation for war 
43,44 by Imgur Bel, the fortress of invincible Babylon, 
45 400 cubits in its completeness, 
46 a wall of Nimitti-Bel 
47 an outwork of Babylon 


264 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


48,49 for defence. Two lofty embankments, 

50 in cement and brick, 

51 a fortress like a mountain | made, 

52 and in their sub-structure 

53 I built a brickwork ; 

54 then on its summit a large edifice 

55 for the residence of My Royalty 

56, 57 with cement and brick I skilfully built 

58 and brought it down by the side of the temple: 
59 and in the exact middle, on the second day 

60 its foundation in a solid depth 

61,62 I made good and its summit I carried round; 


63 and on the 15th day its beauty 
(Continued on Column IX.) 


COLUMN IX 

1 I skilfully completed 

2 and exalted as an abode of Royalty. 

3,4 Tall pines, the produce of lofty mountains, 

5 thick asuhu wood 

6,7 and surman wood in choice pillars 

8 for its covered porticos I arranged. 

Q ikki and musritkanna woods 
10 cedar and surman woods 
11 I brought forth, and in heaps, 
12 with a surface of silver and gold 
13 and with coverings of copper, 
14,15 on domes and arches, and with works of metal 
16 its gates I strongly overlaid 
17 and completely with zamat-stone 
18 I finished off its top. 

19, 20 A strong wall in cement and brick 
21 like a mountain I carried round 
22, 23 a wall, a brick fortress, a great fortress 
24 with long blocks of stone 
25,26 gatherings from great lands I made 
27, 28 and like hills I upraised its head. — 
29, 30 That house for admiration I caused to build 
31 and for a banner to hosts of men: 

32 with carved work I fitted it; 


INSCRIPTION OF NEBUCHADNEZZAR 265 


33 the strong power of reverence for 

34 the presence ot Royalty 

35 environs its walls; 

36, 37 the least thing not upright enters it not, 
38 that evil may not make head. 

39 The walls of the fortress of Babylon 

40, 41 its defence in war I raised 

42 and the circuit of the city of Babylon. 

43,44 I have strengthened skilfully. 

45 To Merodach my Lord 

46 my hand I lifted: 

47 O Merodach the Lord, Chief of the gods, 

48, 49 a surpassing Prince thou hast made me, 
50 and empire over multitudes of men, 

51, 52 hast intrusted to me as precious lives ; 

53 thy power have | extended on high, 

54,55 over Babylon thy city, before all mankind. 
56 No city of the land have I exalted 

57,58 as was exalted the reverence of thy deity: 
59 I caused it to rest: and may thy power 

60,61 bring its treasures abundantly to my land. 
62 I, whether as King and embellisher, 

63 am the rejoicer of thy heart 

64 or whether as High Priest appointed, 


65 embellishing all thy fortresses, 
(Continued on Column X.) 


COLUMN X 


1,2 For thy glory, O exalted Merodach 

3 a house have I made. 

4 May its greatness advance! 

5 May its fulness increase! 

6,7 in its midst abundance may it acquire! 

8 May its memorials be augmented! 

g May it receive within itself 
10 the abundant tribute 
II, 12 of the Kings of nations and of all peoples! ? 
13,14 From the West to the East by the rising sun 


a PDAS Dan. i. 2, “‘He brought the vessels into the treasure-house of 
is god.” 


266 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


15 may I have no foemen! 

16 May they not be multiplied 

17,18 within, in the midst thereof, forever, 
19 Over the dark races may he rule! 


ACCADIAN POEM ON THE SEVEN EVIL SPIRITS 
TRANSLATED BY Rev. A. H. Sayce, M.A. 


HE following poem is one of the numerous bilingual 
texts, written in the original Accadian with an inter- 
linear Assyrian translation, which have been brought 

from the library of Assur-bani-pal, at Kouyunjik. The seven 
evil spirits who are mentioned in it are elsewhere described as 
the seven storm-clouds or winds whose leader seems to have 
been the dragon Tiamat (“the deep” ) defeated by Bel-Mero- 
dach in the war of the gods. It was these seven storm-spirits 
who were supposed to attack the moon when it was eclipsed, 
as described in an Accadian poem translated by Mr. Fox Tal- 
bot in a previous volume of “ Records of the Past.” Here 
they are regarded as the allies of the incubus or nightmare. 
We may compare them with the Maruts or storm-gods of the 
Rig-Veda (see Max Miller, “ Rig-Veda-Sanhita: the Sacred 
Hymns of the Brahmans translated and explained,” Vol. I). 
The author of the present poem seems to have been a native 
of the Babylonian city of Eridu, and his horizon was bounded 
by the mountains of Susiania, over whose summits the storms 
raged from time to time. A fragment of another poem re- 
lating to Eridu is appended, which seems to celebrate a temple 
similar to that recorded by Maimonides in which the Baby- 
lonian gods gathered round the image of the sun-god to lament 
the death of Tammuz. 

A copy of the cuneiform text will be found in the “ Cunet 
form Inscrptions of Western Asia,” Vol. IV, pl. 15. M. Fr. 
Lenormant has translated a portion of it in “ La Magie chez les 
Chaldéens,” pp. 26, 27. 


ACCADIAN POEM ON THE SEVEN EVIL SPIRITS 267 


ACCADIAN POEM ON THE SEVEN Evi SPIRITS 


OBVERSE 


=~ 


(In) the earth their borders were taken, and that god? 
came not forth. 
From the earth he came not forth, (and) their power was 
baneful. 

3 The heaven like a vault they extended and that which had 
no exit they opened.” 

4 Among the stars of heaven their watch they kept not, in 
watching (was) their office. 

5 The mighty hero® to heaven they exalted, and his father 
he knew not. 

6 The Fire-god on high, the supreme, the first-born, the 
mighty, the divider of the supreme crown of Anu! 

7 The Fire-god the light that exalts him with himself he 
exalts. 

8 Baleful (are) those seven, destroyers. 

9 For his ministers in his dwelling he chooses (them). 

o O Fire-god, those seven how were they born, how grew 
they up? 

11 Those seven in the mountain ‘of the sunset were born. 

12 Those seven in the mountain of the sunrise grew up. 

13 In the hollows of the earth have they their dwelling. 

14 On the high-places of the earth are they proclaimed. 

15 As for them in heaven and earth immense (is) their habita- 

tion. 

16 Among the gods their couch they have not. 

17 Their name in heaven (and) earth exists not. 

18 Seven they are: in the mountain of the sunset do they rise. 

19 Seven they are: in the mountain of the sunrise did they set. 

20 Into the hollows of the earth do they penetrate.® 

21 On the high places of the earth did they ascend. 

22 As for them, goods they have not, in heaven and earth they 

are not known.*® 


to 


1 That is, the god of fire. ‘In the Accadian text, ‘‘ they knew 
2 The Assyrian has, ‘‘ Unto heaven not.’ 
that which was not seen they raised.” 5In the Accadian, ‘‘ cause the foot 


% The Assyrian adds, ‘‘the first-born to dwell. 
supreme. ®6In the Assyrian, ‘ learned.” 


268 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


é 


OBVERSE 
23 Unto Merodach* draw near, and this word may he say 
unto thee.*® 
24 Of those baleful seven, as many as he sets before thee, 
their might may he give thee, 
25 according to the command of his blessed mouth, (he who 
is) the supreme judge of Anu. 
26 The Fire-god unto Merodach draws near, and this word 
he saith unto thee. 
27 In the pavilion, the resting-place of might, this word he 
hears, and 
28 to his father Hea ® to his house he descends, and speaks: 
29 O my father, the Fire-god unto the rising of the sun has 
penetrated, and these secret words has uttered. 
30 Learning the story of those seven, their places grant thou 
to another. 
31 Enlarge the ears, O son of Eridu.’ 
32 Hea his son Merodach answered: 
33 My son, those seven dwell in earth; 
34 those seven from the earth have issued. 


REVERSE 

35 Those seven in the earth were born, 

36 those seven in the earth grew up. 

37 The forces of the deep for war * have drawn near. 

38 Go, my son Merodach! 

39 (for) the laurel, the baleful tree that breaks in pieces the 
incubi, 

40 the name whereof Hea remembers in his heart. 

4. In the mighty enclosure, the girdle of Eridu which is to 
be praised, 

42 to roof and foundation may the fire ascend and to (work) 
evil may those seven never draw near. 

43 Like a broad scimitar in a broad place bid (thine) hand 
rest; and 

44 In circling fire by night and by day? on the (sick) man’s 
head may it abide. 


™In the Accadian text, Merodach, was near the junction of the Euphrates 
the mediator and protector of mankind, and Tigris, on the Arabian side of the 
is called “* protector of the covenant.” river. It was one of the oldest cities 

8 That is, the fire-god. of Chaldea. 

® Hea, the god of the waters, was the 1 Literally, ‘‘ warlike expedition.”’ 
father of Merodach, the sun-god. 2In the Accadian, ‘* day (and) night.” 


10 ** Kridu,” the “‘ Rata” of Ptolemy, 


ACCADIAN POEM ON THE SEVEN EVIL SPIRITS 269 


45 At night mingle the potion and at dawn in his hand let 
him raise (it). 

46 In the night a precept * in a holy book,‘ in bed, on the 
sick man’s head let them place.® 

47 The hero (Merodach) unto his warriors sends: 

48 Let the Fire-god seize on the incubus. 

49 Those baleful seven may he remove and their bodies may 
he bind. 

50 During the day the sickness (caused by) the incubus (let 
him) overcome. 

51 May the Fire-god bring back the mighty powers to their 
foundations. 

52 May Nin-ci-gal ® the wife of (Hea) establish before her the 
bile (of the man). 


53 Burn up the sickness? . . . 
54 May Nin-akha-kuddu § seize upon his body and abide upon 
his head, 


55 according to the word of Nin-akha-kuddu, 

56 (in) the enclosure of Eridu. 

57 (In) the mighty girdle of the deep and of Eridu may she 
remember his return (to health). 

58 In (her) great watch may she keep (away) the incubus 
supreme among the gods (that is) upon his head, and in 
the night may she watch him. 

59 (By) night and day to the prospering hands of the Sun- 
god may she intrust him, 


Conclusion. 


60 (In) Eridu a dark pine grew, in a holy place it was planted. 

61 Its (crown) was white crystal which toward the deep spread. 

62 The . . .® of Hea (was) its pasturage in Eridu, a canal 
full (of waters). 

63 Its seat (was) the (central) place of this earth. 

64 Its shrine (was) the couch of mother Zicum.? 


3 ** Masal’”’ (mashal), as in Hebrew, ™TIn the Accadian, “the sick head 
**a proverb.” (and) sick heart.” Then follows a la- 
4Literally, ‘‘ tablet.” cuna. 
5It is evident that the poem was to 8 Apparently another name of Nin-ci- 
be used as a charm in case of sick- gal. 
ness. Compare the phylacteries of the ® Lacuna. ; ‘ 
Jews. 10 Compare the Greek idea of Delphi 
6 “* Nin-ci-gal”’ (‘‘ the Lady of the as the central ougadds or “ navel” of 
Mighty Country”) was Queen of the earth. 
Hades, and identified with Gula, or 1 Zicum, or Zigara, was the primeval 
Bahu (the “‘ chaos” [‘‘ bohu ’’] of Gen- goddess, “the mother of Anu and the 
i. 2), “‘the Lady of the House of gods.”’ 
Death.” 


270 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 

65 The of its holy house like a forest spread its shade; 
there (was) none who within entered not. 

66 (It was the seat) of the mighty the mother, begetter of Anu.° 


67 Within it (also was) Tammuz.* 


(Of the two next and last lines only the last word, “the 
universe,” remains.) 


CHARM FOR AVERTING THE SEVEN EvIL SPIRITS 


For the sake of completeness a charm for averting the at- 
tack of the seven evil spirits or storm-clouds may be added here, 
though the larger part of it has already been translated by 
Mr. Fox Talbot in ‘ Records of the Past,” Vol. III, p. 143. 
It forms part of the great collection of magical formule, and 
is lithographed in the “ Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western 
Asia,” Vol. IV, pl. 2, col. v, lines 30-60. 


1 Seven (are) they, seven (are) they! 

2 In the channel of the deep seven (are) they! 

3 (In) the radiance of heaven seven (are) they! 

4 In the channel of the deep in a palace grew they up. 

5 Male they (are) not, female they (are) not.® 

6 (In) the midst of the deep (are) their paths. 

7 Wife they have not, son they have-not. 

8 Order (and) kindness know they not. 

g Prayer (and) supplication hear they not. 

10 The cavern in the mountain they enter. 

11 Unto Hea (are) they hostile. 

12 The throne-bearers of the gods (are) they. 

13 Disturbing the Jily in the torrents are they set. 

14 Baleful (are) they, baleful (are) they. 

15 Seven (are) they, seven (are) they, seven twice again (are) 
they. 

16 May the spirits of heaven remember, may the spirits of 
earth remember. 


2 Lacuna. 

3 That is, of Zicum. 

Tammuz, called ‘‘ Du-zi’” (‘“ the 
[only] son ’’) in Accadian, was a form 
of the aint pote His death through the 
darkness of winter caused Istar to de- 
scend into Hades in search of him. 

5 The Accadian text, ‘“‘ Female they 
are not, male they are not.’’ This order 


is in accordance with the position held 
by the woman in Accad; in the Ac- 
cadian Table of Laws, for instance, 
translated in ‘‘ Records of the Past,” 
vol. iii. p. 23, the denial of the father 
by the son is punished very leniently 
in comparison with the denial of the 
mother. 


CHALDEAN HYMNS TO THE SUN 271 


CHALDEAN HYMNS TO THE SUN 
TRANSLATED BY FRANCOIS LENORMANT 


HE sun-god, called in the Accadian Utu and Parra (the 
latter is of less frequent occurrence), and in the Semitic 
Assyrian Samas, held a less important rank in the divine 

hierarchy of the Chaldaic-Babylonian pantheon, afterward 
adopted by the Assyrians, than the moon-god (in the Accadian 
Aku, Enizuna, and Huru-ki; in the Assyrian Sin), who was 
even sometimes said to be his father. His principal and most 
common title was “ Judge of Heaven and Earth,” in the Acca- 
dian dikud ana kia, in the Assyrian dainu sa same u irtsiti. The 
most important sanctuaries of the deity were at Larsam, in 
southern Chaldza, and Sippara, in the north of Babylonia. 

Some few fragments of liturgical or magical hymns ad- 
dressed to Shamas have come down to us. These are five in 
number, and I give a translation of them here. They have all 
been studied previously by other Assyriologists, but I think 
the present interpretation of them is superior to any which 
has as yet been furnished. 

The following are the chief bibliographical data concerning 
them: 

I. The primitive Accadian text, accompanied by an inter- 
linear Assyrian version published in the “ Cuneiform Inscrip- 
tions of Western Asia,” Vol. IV, pl. 20, No. 2. I put forth 
a first attempt at a translation in my “ Magie chez les Chal- 
déens”’ (p. 165), and since then M. Friedrich Delitzsch has 
given a much better explanation of it (“ G. Smith’s Chaldatsche 
Genesis,” p. 284). Of this hymn we possess only the first five 
lines. 

II. The primitive Accadian text, with an interlinear Assy- 
rian version, is published in the “Cuneiform Inscriptions of 
Western Asia,” Vol. IV, pl. 19, No.2. M. Delitzsch has given 
a German translation of it in “ G. Smith’s Chalddaische Genesis,” 
p. 284, and a revised one in English has just appeared in Prof. 
Sayce’s “ Lectures upon Babylonian Literature,” p. 43. 

III. A similar sacred text, published in the “ Cuneiform 
Inscriptions of Western Asia,” Vol. IV, pl. 28, No. 1, in which 


272 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


the indications as to the obverse and reverse of the tablet are 
incorrect and ought to be altered. The two fragments left 
to us, separated by a gap, the extent of which it is at present 
impossible to estimate, belong to an incantatory hymn des- 
tined to effect the cure of the king’s disease. Interpretations 
have been attempted in my “ Premieres Civilisations”’ (Vol. 
II, p. 165 et seq.), and in the appendices added by M. Fried- 
rich Delitzsch to his German translation of G. Smith’s work, 
already cited. 

IV. The primitive Accadian text with an interlinear Assy- 
rian version, published in the “ Cuneiform Inscriptions of 
Western Asia,” Vol. IV, pl. 17, col. 1. This hymn, like the 
preceding one, is intended to be recited by the priest of magic 
in order to cure the invalid king. I gave a very imperfect 
translation of it in my “ Magie chez les Chaldéens”’ (p. 166). 

V. We possess only the Semitic Assyrian version of this 
text; it was published in the ‘Cuneiform Inscriptions of 
Western Asia,” Vol. IV; pl. 17, col. 2. As yet, no one has 
produced a complete translation of this hymn; but a few pas- 
sages have been quoted by M. Friedrich Delitzsch (“G. 
Smith’s Chalddische Genesis,” p. 284) and myself (“ La Magie 
chez les Chaldéens,” p. 164, and pp. 179, 180, of the English 
edition, 1877). 

I refer the reader to the various publications above men- 
tioned for a convincing proof of the entirely revised character 
of the translations here submitted to him, and I think he will 
grant that I have made some progress in this branch of knowl- 
edge, since my first attempts many years ago. 


CHALDEAN HyMNS TO THE SUN 


FIRST HYMN 


1 Magical incantation. 

2 Sun, from. the foundations of heaven thou art risen; 

3 thou hast unfastened the bolts of the shining skies; 

4 thou hast opened the door of heaven. 

5 Sun, above the countries thou hast raised thy head. 

6 Sun, thou hast covered the immensity of the heavens and 
the terrestrial countries. 


CHALDEAN HYMNS TO THE SUN 


273 

(The fragments of the four following lines are too mutilated 
to furnish any connected sense; all the rest of the hymn is en- 
tirely wanting.) 


SECOND HYMN? 


1 Lord, illuminator of the darkness, who piercest the face 
of darkness, 
merciful god, who settest up those that are bowed down, 
who sustainest the weak, 
3 toward the light the great gods direct their glances, 
4 the archangels of the abyss,” every one of them, contem- 
plate eagerly thy face. 
5 The language of praise,* as one word, thou directest it. 
6 The host of their heads seeks the light of the Sun in the 
South.* 
7 Like a bridegroom thou restest joyful and gracious.® 
8 In thy illumination thou dost reach afar to the boundaries 
of heaven.® 
g Thou art the banner of the vast earth. 
o O God! the men who dwell afar off contemplate thee and 
rejoice. 
I} Cheigreat gods fixiiiv)20),.7 
12 Nourisher of the luminous heavens, who favorest .. . 
13, He who has not turned his hands (toward thee . . 


TAR Varies 


iS) 


THIRD HYMN 


1 Thou who marchest before . . .° 

a WithyAniwand) Belsiirh.s\5 

3 The support of crowds of men, direct them! 

4 He who rules in heaven, he who arranges, is thyself. 

5 He who establishes truth in the thoughts of the nations, is 
thyself. 

6 Thou knowest the truth, thou knowest what is false. 

7 Sun, justice has raised its head; 


1See also Lenormant, ‘“ Chaldean 
coi, bag p. 180. | , 
2 In the Assyrian version, ** The arch- 


angels of the earth. 


5“ Like a wife thou submittest thy- 
self, cheerful and kindly.’’—Sayce. 

® In the Assyrian version, ‘‘ Thou art 
the illuminator of the limits of the 


8 In the Assyrian version, ‘‘ The eager 
language.” j ! 

The Assyrian version has simply, 
“of the sun.” 


18 


distant heavens.” 

7 Here occurs a word which I cannot 
yet make out. 

8 Lacune. 


274 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


8 Sun, falsehood, like envy, has spoken calumny. 

g Sun, the servant of Anu and Bel ® is thyself; 

10 Sun, the supreme judge of heaven and earth is thyself. 
II Sun, 


(In this place occurs the gap between the two fragments on 
the obverse and on the reverse of the tablet.) 


12 Sun, the supreme judge of the countries, is thyself. 

13 The Lord of living beings, the one merciful to the coun- 
tries, is thyself. 

14 Sun, illuminate this day the King, son of his god,*° make 
him shine! 

15 Everything that is working evil in his body, may that be 
driven elsewhere. 

16 Like acruse of . . .' purify him! 

17 Like a cruse of milk, make him flow! 

18 May it flow like molten bronze! 

19 Deliver him from his infirmity! 

20 Then, when he revives, may thy sublimity direct him! 

21 And me, the magician, thy obedient servant, direct me! 


FOURTH HYMN 


1 Great Lord, from the midst of the shining heavens at thy 
rising, 

2 valiant hero, Sun, from the midst of the shining heavens, 
at thy rising, | 

3 in the bolts of the shining heavens, in the entrance which 
opens heaven, at thy rising 

4 in the bar of the door of the shining heavens, in . . 2 
at thy rising, 

5 in the great door of the shining heavens, when thou 
openest it. 

6 in the highest (summits) of the shining heavens, at the 
time of thy rapid course, 

7 the celestial archangels with respect and joy press around 
thee ; 

®In the Accadian, “Ana and Mul- 1 Here follows an incomprehensible 


ge. i ! } word. 
10 Meaning the pious king. 2Lacuna, 


CHALDEAN HYMNS TO THE SUN 275 


8 the servants of the Lady of crowns * lead thee in a festive 
"manner; 
g the . . .* for the repose of thy heart fix thy days; 
10 the multitudes of the crowds on the earth turn their eyes 
often toward thee; 
11 the Spirits of heaven and earth lead thee. 


12 The . . .* thou crushest them with thy strength, 
13. . .* thou discoverest them, 
14. . .* thou causest to seize, 


15. . .* thou directest. 


(I am obliged here to pass over five lines which are too 
mutilated for me to attempt to translate them with any degree 
of certainty.) 


21 The Lord, as to me, has sent me; 

22 the great god, Hea, as to me, has sent me.® 

23 Settle what has reference to him,® teach the order which 
concerns him, decide the question relating to him. 

24 shou, in thy course thou directest the human race; 

25 cast upon him a ray of peace, and let it cure his suffering. 

26 The man, son of his god,’ has laid before thee his short- 
comings and his transgressions ; 

27 his feet and his hands are in pain, grievously defiled by 
disease. 

28 Sun, to the lifting up of my hands pay attention ; 

29 eat his food, receive the victim, give his god (for a sup- 
port) to his hand! 

30 By his order let his shortcomings be pardoned! let his 
transgressions be blotted out! 

31 May his trouble leave him! may he recover from his dis- 
ease! 

32 Give back life to the King! ® 

33 Then, on the day that he revives, may thy sublimity en- 
velop him! 

34 Direct the King who is in subjection to thee! 

35 And me, the magician, thy humble servant, direct me! 


8In the Assyrian version, ‘‘of the ® The invalid on Won of whom the 
Lady of the gods.” invocation is recite 
* Lacune. } 7 The pious man. 

5 There is no Assyrian version of this ® From this verse onward the As- 


line; we have only the Accadian. Syrian version is wanting. 


276 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


FIFTH HYMN ? 


1 Magical incantation. 

2 I have invoked thee, O Sun, in the midst of the high 
heavens. 

3 Thou art in the shadow of the cedar, and 

4 thy feet rest on the summits. 

5 The countries have called thee eagerly, they have directed 
their looks toward thee, O Friend; 

6 thy brilliant light illuminates every land, 

7 overthrowing all that impedes thee, assemble the coun- 
tries, 

8 for thou, O Sun, knowest their boundaries. 

g Thou who annihilatest falsehood, who dissipatest the evil 
influence 

10 of wonders, omens, sorceries, dreams, evil apparitions, 

Ir who turnest to a happy issue malicious designs, who an- 
nihilatest men and countries 

12 that devote themselves to fatal sorceries, I have taken 
refuge in thy presence. 


LS 7 sna 

14 Do not allow those who make spells, and are hardened, to 
arise ; 

15 Prighten their heart ei. .* 


16 Settle also, O Sun, light of the great gods. 

17 Right into my marrow, O Lords of breath, that I may re- 
joice, even I. 

18 May the gods who have created me take my hands! 

19 Direct the breath of my mouth! my hands 

20 direct them also, Lord, light of the legions of the heavens, 
Sun, O Judge! 

21 The day, the month, the year 

22)... A;conjure! the spell 

23...  .' deliver from the infirmity ! 


1 


®Cf. alsc “‘ Chaldean Magic,” pp. 10 Here I am obliged to omit a line, 
185, 186. eaten I cannot yet make out. 
acune. 


TWO ACCADIAN HYMNS 277 


TWO ACCADIAN HYMNS 
TRANSLATED By Rev. A. H, Sayce, M.A. 


HE two following hymns, both of which are unfortu- 
nately mutilated, are interesting from their subject- 
matter. The first is addressed to the sun-god Tam- 

muz, the husband of Istar, slain by the boar’s tusk of winter, 
and sought by the goddess in the underground world. It is 
this visit which is described in the mythological poem known as 
the “ Descent of Istar into Hades” (‘‘ Records of the Past,” 
Vol. I, p. 143). The myth of Tammuz and Istar passed, 
through the Phcenicians, to the Greeks, among whom Adonis 
and Aphrodite represent the personages of the ancient Acca- 
dian legend. Tammuz is referred to in Ezek. viii. 14. (See 
“ Records of the Past,’ Vol. IX, p. 147.) The second hymn 
treats of the world-mountain, the Atlas of the Greeks, which 
supports the heaven with its stars, and is rooted in Hades. 
Under its other name, “ Kharsak-kurra,”’ or “ Mountain of 
the East,” it was identified with the present Mount Elwend, 
and was regarded as the spot where the ark had rested, and 
where the gods had their seat. A reference is made to it in 
Isa. xiv. 13. Both hymns illustrate the imagery and metaphor 
out of which grew the mythology of primeval Babylonia, and 
offer curious parallels to the Aryan hymns of the Rig-Veda. 
The cuneiform texts are lithographed in the “ Cuneiform In- 
scriptions of Western Asia,” Vol. IV, 27, 1, 2. 


Two AccADIAN HymMNsS 


I 


1 O shepherd,? Lord Tammuz, Bridegroom ? of Istar! 

2 Lord of Hades, Lord of Tul-Sukhba! 

3, Understanding one, who among the papyri the water drinks 
not! 

4 His brood in the desert, even the reed, he created not.? 


1 The early Accadian kings ip webwianed 2“ Khamir,” literally “red” or 
call themselves ‘“‘ shepherds.” Accord- “blushing one,” in reference to the 
ing to Berosus, Alorus, the first ante- glow of the setting sun. 
diluvian king of Babylonia, gave him- % Or, ‘‘ was not green.” 


self the same title. Compare the 
Homeric rowmjv Aawy, 


278 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


5 Its bulrush in his canal he lifted not up. 
6 The roots of the bulrush were carried away. 
7 O god of the world, who among the papyri the water drinks 


not! 
4 


IT 


1 O mighty mountain of Bel, Im-kharsak,® whose head rivals 
heaven, whose root (is) the holy deep! 

2 Among the mountains, like a strong wild bull, it lieth down. 

3 Its horn like the brilliance of the sun is bright. 

4 Like the star of heaven ® it is a prophet and is filled with 
sheen. 

5 O mighty mother of Beltis, daughter of Bit-Esir: splendor 
of Bit-kurra,’ appointment of Bit-Gigune, handmaid of 
Bit-Cigusurra ! ® 

9 


ACCADIAN PROVERBS AND SONGS 
TRANSLATED BY Rev. A. H. Sayce, M.A. 


HE following is a selection from an interesting collec- 
tion of Accadian songs and proverbs, given in a muti- 
lated reading-book of the ancient language which was 

compiled for the use of Assyrian (or rather Semitic Babylonian) 
students. These sentences were drawn up at a time when it 
was necessary for the scribes to be familiar with the old lan- 
guage of Accad, and to be able to translate it into Assyrian, 
and hence these phrases are of very great philological value, 
since they indicate often analogous words and various verbal 
forms. The Assyrian translation and the Accadian texts are 
arranged in parallel columns. Some of the proverbs must be 
taken from an agricultural treatise of the same nature as the 
“Works and Days” of Hesiod. Copies of the texts will be 
found in the “ Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia,” Vol. 
3B AK a 


4 Lacuna. i ‘The temple of the East 
5** Wind of the mountain.’ ‘* The temple of the land ie forests.” 
® That is, Dilbat, “ the md Oe ’ Lacuna. 


Venus, the morning-star. 


ACCADIAN PROVERBS 279 


ACCADIAN PROVERBS 


1 Door and bolt are made fast. 

2 Oracle to oracle: to the oracle it is brought.? 

3 The cut beam he strikes: the strong beam he shapes. 

4 The resting-place of the field which (is) in the house he 
will establish. 

5 Within the court of the house he feels himself small. 

6 A heap of witnesses ? as his foundation he has made strong. 

7 Once and twice he has made gains ;* yet he is not content. 

8 By himself he dug and wrought.‘ 

g For silver his resting-place he shall buy. 

10 On his heap of bricks a building he builds not, a beam he 
set not up. 

11 A house like his own house one man to another consigns. 

12 If the house he contracts for he does not complete, 10 
shekels of silver he pays. 

13 The joists of his wall he plasters. 

14 In the month Marchesvan,° the 3oth day (let him choose) 
for removal. 

15 (Let him choose it, too,) for the burning of weeds. 

16 The tenant of the farm two-thirds of the produce on his 
own head to the master of the orchard pays out. 


ACCADIAN SONGS 


26 (If) evil 
thou hast done, 
(to) the sea forever 
oo si ae tno POESE: 
23 My city bless: 
among my men 
fully prosper me. 
26 Bless everything; 
and to (my) dress be favorable. 


1 That is, “ compared.” % That is, “the more a man has, the 
®Accadian “ izzi ribanna,’”’ Assyrian more he wants.” 
“igar kasritu”’ (“‘ heap of covenant”), *‘Yhat is, “if you want a thing done, 
like the Hebrew “ Galeed,” Aramaic do it yourself.” 


“ Yegar-sahadutha ”’ (Gen. xxxi. 47). 5 October. 
® Lacuna. 


280 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


28 Before the oxen as they march 
in the grain thou liest down. 


30 My knees are marching, 
my feet are not resting: 
with no wealth of thine own, 
grain thou begettest for me. 


34 A heifer am I; 
to the cow [I am yoked: 
the plough-handle is strong; 
lift it up, lift it up! 


53 May he perform vengeance: 
may he return also 
(to him) who gives. 


55 The marsh as though it were not he passes ;* 
the slainas thoughthey werenot . . .§ hemakes good. 


57 To the waters their god ® 
has returned: 
to the house of bright things 
he descended (as) an icicle: 
(on) a seat of snow 


he grew not old in wisdom. 
8 


10 Like an oven 
(which is) old 
against thy foes 
be hard. 


15 Thou wentest, thou spoiledst 
the land of the foe; 
(for) he went, he spoiled 
thy land, (even) the foe. 


™I have translated this line from the and could not therefore supply the 
Accadian, the Assyrian text being translation. 
wanting, and the words ‘a recent la- 8 Lacune. 
cuna’”’ being written instead. This ® This seems to be Buniee from a 
makes it clear that the scribe who hymn describing the return of Oannes 
copied the tablet for Assur-bani-pal’s to the Persian Gulf. 
library did not understand Accadian 


BABYLONIAN PUBLIC DOCUMENTS 231 


18 Kingship 
in its going forth 
(is) like a royal robe( ?) 


19 Into the river thou plungest, and 
thy water (is) swollen 
at the time: ?° 
into the orchard thou plungest, and 
thy fruit 
(is) bitter. 


34 The corn (is) high, 
it is flourishing ; 
how 
is it known? 
The corn (is) bearded, 
it is flourishing ; 
how 
is it known? 


42 The fruit of death 
may the man eat, 
(and yet) the fruit of life 
may he achieve. 


BABYLONIAN PUBLIC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING 
PRIVATE PERSONS 


EpITEp By MM. Oppert AND MENANT 


HESE translations are taken from a French work pub- 
lished by Dr. Oppert and M. Ménant;? the versions 
have been revised, in some essential points, for the 

“ Records of the Past,” by Dr. Oppert, who holds himself per- 
sonally responsible for the exact representation of the sense of 
these documents; but on account of the unusual difficulty of 
these texts, the reader may easily be convinced that for a long 
time yet, and particularly in details of minor importance, there 
will remain room enough for a conscientious improvement of 
all previous translations. 

19See ‘ Cuneiform Paced ie of ments juridiques de l’Assyrie et de la 


Western Asia,’’ vol. i. 25 Chaldée,” par J. Oppert et J. Ménant, 
1The title of the wore is * Docu- Paris, 1877. 


282 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


BABYLONIAN PRIVATE CONTRACTS 
THE STONE OF ZA’ALEH 


This document, engraved on a small broken slab of basalt, 
is dated from the first year of the reign of Marduk-idin-akhe. 
It was discovered long ago in the small mound of Za’aleh, on 
the left bank of the Euphrates, a few miles northwest of 
Babylon. The text forms two columns of cursive Babylonian 
characters; the first column is extremely damaged. Though 
defaced, this contract offers some interest by its differing from 
other documents of the aforesaid reign. It has been published 
in the first volume of the collection of the British Museum 
(“W. A. 1.,” pl. 66), and translated for the first time by Dr. 
Oppert, “ Expédition en Mésopotamie,” t. 1, p. 253. 


COLUMN I 


Covenant which in the town of Babylon, in the month Sebat, 
in the first year of Marduk-idin-akhe, the mighty King, the 
men of M\)2)5%).°) shave agreed: 

The waters of the river . . . ,? and the waters of the 
canals did not gothrough .. 3 


COLUMN II 


2 and all the streams which exist at the mouth of the 
river Salmani. Therefore, Aradsu, son of Erisnunak, has 
agreed to (aforesaid things) for the times to come, in giving 
his signature to this tablet. 

Bit-Karra-basa, son of Hea-habal-idin, Governor of the town 
of Isin; Babilayu, son of Sin-mustesir, Chief; Malik-akh-idinna, 
son of Nigazi, Chief of the ru-bar; * Tab-asap-Marduk, son of 
Ina-e-saggatu-irbu, a Scribe; Zikar-Nana, sonof . . .? Bin, 
sabil; Nabu-mumaddid-zir, a servant, son of Zikar-Ea, a 
Governor ; and Nabu-idin-akhe, son of Namri, have fixed it in 
the furnitures of the house. 

In the town of Babylon, on the 30th of Sebat (January), 
in the first year of Marduk-idin-akhe, the mighty King. 

The Masters of the Royal Seal have granted approbation. 


2 Lacuna. 8 Lacuna of several lines. # Unknown dignity. 


BABYLONIAN PRIVATE CONTRACTS 283 


THE Parts MicHAaux STONE 


This monument is so called from the name of the traveller 
by whom it was brought over to France in 1800. It was dis- 
covered near the Tigris, not far from the ruins of the ancient 
city of Ctesiphon. It is an ovoid basalt stone of seventeen 
inches in height, by twenty-four in circumference. The upper 
part is decorated with symbolical figures spread over nearly 
one-third of the monument; one of the sides is divided in two 
parts. At the top the moon crescent and the sun are repre- 
sented; in a somewhat lower place there are four altars; two 
on the right support tiaras; the other two are adorned with two 
symbolical figures. In the middle a winged goat kneeling; the 
lower part of the animal is hidden by the image of another 
altar. The second part contains two altars; one of them bears 
a sort of arrow-head which for a long time has been taken 
for the symbol of the Cuneiform writing, because it resembles 
the element of these characters. On the other part there is a 
triangular symbol, then, between both altars, two kneeling 
monsters ; only the fore part of their body is visible. On the 
left behind the altar there is to be seen a symbolical figure pre- 
ceding a downward pointed arrow. On the back side of the 
monument there is a scorpion, a bird roosting. On the ground 
there is a bird, on the head of which is to be seen an unknown 
symbol composed of two other monsters, one bears a bird’s 
head, and the other has a hideous horned face; the rest of the 
body is wrapped up in a sort of sheath; opposite to which a 
dog kneeling. The top of the stone is bordered with an im- 
mense snake; its tail extends into the very inscriptions, its head 
touches the head of the dog. On each side of the monument 
in its lower part, there are two columns of cuneiform texts, 
which contain altogether ninety-five lines. 

This monument is now kept since 1801 in the “ Cabinet des 
Médailles” at Paris (No. 702). Since that epoch it has always 
attracted the attention of scholars; it was published by M. 
Millin in 1802, “ Monuments inédits,” t. I, pl. viii, ix. Mutinter 
first attempted to explain th. symbolical figures (“ Religion der 
Babylonier,” p. 102, pl. 111). Sir Henry Rawlinson has also 
published the inscription again, in “ W. A. I.,” Vol. I, p. 70. 
The sense of this text has been fixed for the first time, in 1856, 


284 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 

by M. Oppert’s translation in the “ Bulletin Archéologique de 
VAthénéum Francais.” After this translation, Mr. Fox Talbot 
gave one in 1861, in the “ Transactions of the Royal Asiatic 
Society,” Vol. XVIII, p. 54. 


COLUMN I 


20 hin of corn is the quantity for seeding an arura.® The 
field is situated near the town of Kar-Nabu, on the bank of the 
river Mekaldan, depending of the property of Kilnamandu. 

The field is measured as follows:® Three stades in length 
toward the East, in the direction of the town of Bagdad; three 
stades in length toward the West, adjoining the house of Tu- 
namissah; 1 stade 50 fathoms‘ in breadth toward the North, 
adjoining the property of Kilnamandu; 1 stade 50 fathoms up 
in the South, adjoining the property of Kilnamandu. 

Sirusur, son of Kilnamandu, gave it for all future days to 
Dur-Sarginaiti, his daughter, the bride *§ of Tab-asap-Marduk, 
son of Ina-e-saggatu-irbu (the pretended), who wrote this; 
and Tab-asap-Marduk, son of Ina-e-saggatu-irbu, who wrote 
this in order to perpetuate without interruption the memory 
of this gift, and commemorated on this stone the will of the 
great gods and the god Serah. 


COLUMN II 


Whosoever in the process of time, among the brothers, the 
sons, the family, the men and women, the servants both male 
and female, of the house of Kilnamandu, either a foreigner, 
or a guest, or whosoever he may be (or anyone else), who will 
destroy this field, who will venture to take away the boundary- 
stone, or will vindicate it: whether he consecrate this field to a 
god, or earn it for his superior, or claim it for himself, or 


_5 Or the great U, namely, of the field 
in question. 

6 Dr. Oppert’s first translation of this 
passage, which is to be found in almost 
all documents of this kind, has been 
corrected in ‘‘ L’Etalon des mesures 
assyriennes,”’ p. 42. The field of Kil- 
namandu was a rectangle of 1 5-6 stades 
in breadth and 3 stades long, viz., 5% 
square stades, amounting to 19.64 
hectares, or 48144 English acres. ‘The 
Stone of Michaux is the only one which 
affords a valuation of the land. 

The arura (great U) is valued at 88 
hectares, 207 acres in the Babylonian 
system; a hin is almost 3 litres, or 5 


ints and a quarter; 20 hins, there- 
ore, are somewhat more than 13 gal- 
lons. The fertility of the Babylonian 
soil was renowned in antiquity. See 
Herodotus i. 193. 

7 A fathom, 10 1-3 feet, is the sixtieth 
part of a stade, 620 feet. 

8 This word is explained in a syl- 
labary copied by Dr. Oppert in 1855, 
but which has never been published. 
The three signs of the ideogram 
(‘‘ Bit-gigunu-a’”’) are rendered by 
“kallatu ” (“a bride”), and this very 
important statement put the translator 
on the track of the right interpretation. 


BABYLONIAN PRIVATE CONTRACTS 285 


change the extent, the surface, or the limits, that he reaps new 
harvests (crops) ; or who will say of the field with its measures, 
“ There is no granter;’’ whether he call forth malediction and 
hostility on the tablets; or establish on it anyone other who 
change these curses, in swearing: “ The head is not the head ;” 
and in asserting: There is no evil eye;® whosoever will carry 
elsewhere those tablets; or will throw them into the water; 
will bury them in the earth; will hide them under stones; 
will burn them with fire, will alter what is written on them, 
will confine them into a place where they might not be seen; that 
man shall be cursed: 

May the gods Anu, El, Hea, the Great Goddess, the great 
gods, inflict upon him the utmost contumely, extirpate his name, 
annihilate his family. 

May Marduk, the great Lord of eternity without end, bind 
him in fetters which cannot be broken. 

May Samas, the great Judge of heaven and earth, judge his 
unpunished misdeeds, and surprise him in flagrant deeds. 

May Sin, the brilliant (Nannar), who dwells in the sacred 
heavens, clothe him in leprosy as in a garment, and give him 
up to the wild beasts that wander in the outsides of the town. 

May Istar, the Queen of heaven and earth, carry him off, 
and deliver him for avenge to the god and the king. 

May Ninip, son of the zenith, son of El the sublime, take 
away his lands, funds, and limits. 

May Gula, the great Queen, the wife of Ninip, infilter into 
his bowels a poison which cannot be pushed out, and may he 
void blood and pus like water. 

May Bin, the great Guardian of heaven and earth, the son of 
the warrior Anu, inundate his field. 

May Serah destroy his firstborn; may he torture his flesh, 
and load his feet with chains. 

May Nabu, the supreme Watcher, strike him with misfor- 
tune and ruin, and blast his happiness that he not obtain it, in 
the wrath of his face. Pants 

May all the great gods whose names are recorded on this 
tablet, curse him with irrevocable malediction, and scatter his 
race even to the last days. 


® This seems to be a usual formula. 


286 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


CONTRACT CONCERNING THE HOousE OF ADA 


(This monument is equally engraved on a black basalt stone ; 
it offers the same arrangement as the stone of Michaux. The 
analogous documents show that numerous inaccuracies have 
been committed. 

In the upper part there occur the same altars, tiaras, birds, 
as well as the above-mentioned goat, dog, scorpion, and snake. 
The surface of the basso-relievo is also covered with Cunei- 
form writing. 

The inscriptions are arranged in four columns, and take both 
sides of the monument. The first column originally finished at 
the 30th line; it seems to have been completed by four lines, 
which contain one of the essential articles of the contract, but 
which evidently are not in their right place, and had been ac- 
tually forgotten in the original engraving. 

On the margins and the bassso-relievo many additions and 
repetitions are to be read, which also prove the engraver’s care- 
lessness or precipitation. ) 


20 hins! of corn are sufficient to seed an arura,? a field in 
the land of Zunire,? on the bank of the river Zirzirri, be- 
longing to the house of Ada. 

Marduk-idin-akhe, King of Babylon, has thus sentenced ac- 
cording to the laws of the country of Assur. Bin-zir-basa, 
his Minister, has favored Marduk-ilusu, son of Ina-e-saggatu- 
irbu,* who has written this to the King of Babylon: I say, 
He has loaded me with favors, and I proclaim that this rating 
has been made according to the epha® of the King of Bab- 
ylon. 

20 hin of corn are sufficient to seed an arura. Bin-zir-basa, 
the Lieutenant (of the King) has invested him with it, and 
(the measurer of lands) has thus measured it for the time to 
come. 

In the length ® above toward the North, turned to the river 
ergata hins are equal to 60 litres, 

Great U, the 


measure. ; 
8’ The country is unknown; the river 


binical literature, where the unity is 
5 a beth-sea, or the surface seeded by a 
standard agrarian sea. Therefore the epha of the king 
(royal epha) is quite in its place: the 
epha is varying from 32 to 36 pints. 


Zirzirri is also mentioned elsewhere. 
4This name signifies, ‘In the Pyra- 
mid he will increase.” 
5 The valuations of the estates are 
made by the quantity of corn required 
to seed them, as it is the case in rab- 


The text itself states the royal en- 
dowment of a perhaps conquered land. 

6 There is no valuation of the field. 
An error crept into the French trans- 
literation; ‘‘us’”’ is not “a stade,” 
but the word “ length.’’ 


BABYLONIAN PRIVATE CONTRACTS 287 


Zirzirri, adjoining the house of Ada, and the field of the house 
of the Satraps. In the length below, toward the South of the 
river Atab-du-Istar, adjoining the house of Ada. In breadth 
above toward the East, adjoining the limits of Bit-ulbar. In 
breadth below toward the West, adjoining the house of Ada. 

According to the law of Marduk-idin-akhe, King of Babylon, 
servant of the gods of the City of the eternal fire,’ it was so 
measured by Bel-zir-kini, son of Zikar-Istar, the measurer of 
the field. 


In the town of Dindu, in the month of Tebet, on the 28th day 
(December) in the toth year of Marduk-idin-akhe, King of 
Babylon. 

In the presence of Bet-ulbar-sakimu, son of Bazi, Chief of 

the ru-bar of the countries; 

in the presence of Babilai, son of Sin-mustesir,® Chief of the 

head Rulers of the country ; 

in the presence of Hea-Kudurri-ibni, son of Zikar-Ea, 

Governor of the provinces ; 

in the presence of Bel-nasir-habal, son of the Chief of the 

rubar of the orders in the provinces ; 

in the presence of Takisa-belit, son of Riu-simti; 

in the presence of Uballitsu, son of Karistiya-napasti ; 

in the presence of Bel-idin-akh, son of Suti; 

in the presence of Sukamuna®-idin, son of Meliharbat ; 

in the presence of Isu-il, son of Habliya; 

in the presence of Bel-akhesu, son of Meliharbat ; 

in the presence of Nis-bet-ulbar, son of Ulamhala ; 

in the presence of Sumidu, son of Marduk-kabuya, Prefect 

of the house of Ada; 

in the presence of E-saggatu-bunuya, hazan*° of the house 

of Ada; 

in the presence of Babrabtatutai, son of Sar-Babil-Assur- 

isSi}; 

in the presence of Sadu-rabu-kabuya, Judge; 

in the presence of Marduk-nasir, son of Gamilu. 


‘ This wis the city generally read ae The god Sukamanu occurs else- 


* Agade. ‘ ere 
® Person already mentioned in the 10 The “‘ hazan ’’ seems to be a super- 


Za-aleh Stone. intendent. 


288 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


COLUMN IilI 


Whoever in the process of time, among the brothers, the 
sons, among the near relations, the allies of the family of the 
house of Ada, would claim this land, would nourish against 
it bad designs, or would suggest them; whoever would utter 
these words, “ There is no giver,’ who would say, “ There is 
no sealer,” or whosoever will say, “‘ I deny that there is a master 
of the house of Ada, that there is a Chief in the house of Ada; 
that there is a hagan of the house of Ada; or that there is 
either a speculator for the house of Ada; or a gitia+ of the 
house of Ada; or a sumtalu; or a lubattu; or an aklu; or a 
kisirtu in the house of Ada; or he will say, The confiscation has 
been pronounced; whether he say: “This field has no meas- 
urer,”’ or say, “ This seal is not of a sealer’ (who has the right 
to) ; or whoever will take possession of this field; or consecrate 
it to the gods; or claim it for himself; or alter its surface, cir- 
cumference and limits; or construct buildings on this land, and 
in the middle of this field (that man will be cursed): 

The gods who are inscribed on this tablet, all those whose 
name is commemorated herein, will curse him with irrevocable 
curses. 

May the gods Anu,? Bel, Hea, these great gods, torment him 
and overwhelm him; that . . 3 

May Marduk, the great Lord of eternity without limits, 
fetter him with inextricable bonds. 

May Nebo, the supreme minister, overthrow the surface, cir- 
cumference, and limits of his properties. 

May Bin, the great Lord of heaven and earth, cause the 
streams of his river to overflow* . . . have his progeny 
circumcised, and load his feet with a heavy chain. 

May Sin, who turns around heaven, envelop his body with 
leprosy as in a garment. 

May Samas, the bright Judge of heaven and earth, judge his 
lawsuit, and have him seized in deed doing. 

May Istar, the goddess of heaven and earth, deliver him to 
the vengeance of the gods and of the King. 


1 By an error, this line is omitted in “The passage is very obscure; if 
the French work; the Assyrian words Dr. Onppert’s idea is correct, there is 
are not yet understood. an allusion to the detested custom of 

2In the text is nu. circumcision, the performance of which 


® Lacuna. was regarded as an affliction. 


BABYLONIAN PRIVATE CONTRACTS 289 


May Gula, the Sovereign Lady, the great wife of Ninip, in- 
filter into his bowels with a poison that will not leave him, and 
may he void pus and blood like water. 

May Ninip, the god of boundaries, filimm camelas inire 
cogat.° | 

May Nergal, the god of arms and bows, break his arrows. 

May Zamal, the King of battles, prevent him in the midst 
of the fray from taking a prisoner. 

May Turda, the Keeper of the images of the great gods, 
walking in the right ways of the gods, besiege his door during 
the night. 

May Iskhara, the goddess of the ancient customs, not hear 
him in the battles. 

May Malik, the great Master of Heaven,® while he sins cause 
him to be slain in the act. 

May all the gods that are on this stone, whose name is com- 
memorated, curse him with irrevocable curses. 


(The lines at the end of the first column read as follows:) 


TIf anybody swears thus: This head is not a head 
or institutes here an outlaw or a causer of mischief, immerse 
them in the waters, bury them in the earth, hide them under 
a heap of stones, destroy them by fire. 


(On the edge of the second column:) 


May the gods whose image is on this table, and whose name 
is invoked, curse him with irrevocable curses. 


(On the edge of the fourth column:) 


The horses . . . ® the Master of the house of Ada may 
dispose of them after him. 30 horses, 25 buffaloes, 3 mares 
in the fields are not inclosed in the decree of the King of Baby- 
lon; Bin-zir-basa has ascribed it for the benefit of Mahanitu, 
after Marduk-ilusu, son of Ina-e-saggatu-irbu. 

The Chief of the rubar of the house of Ada has said it 
(named and pronounced) to Marduk-ilusu, son of the Scribe 
of Marduk-idin-akhe, King of Babylon, and Ina-e-saggatu- 


5 See Lev. xx. 15. TIn the French work, this passage 
6“ Gara anna,” arg been left untranslated. 
vacune. 


19 


290 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


irbu, the Scribe, the field, this one has® . . . owner of 
the house of Ada, has given it for the days to come, and has 
yielded it up. 


(A great many short inscriptions are placed over the basso- 
relievos. 

1. The smallest of them is placed over a kind of lyre. It 
reads: ) 


In sum, an epha and a half. 


(2. Entangled between the branches of an object difficult 
to design and the horns of a goat, occurs a sentence which has 
not been translated. 

3. The word “nase’’ is written between and the altar sup- 
porting a triangular object. 

4. A legend of three lines is engraved between the mentioned 
altar, and a horned animal.) 


So that he may not devastate the land of Zunire, nor the 
dwellings which are belonging to the Governor of Zunire. 


(5. Under an undetermined object, opposite to the nose of 
the above-mentioned fantastical animal is written a sentence 
composed of a perpendicular line and four lines parallel, to the 
circumference. ) 

That he will not acknowledge either the kisirtu or the tribute 
of this house, or the Prefect, or the hazan of the house of Ada. 


(6. Below the preceding one.) 


Either the author of the treaty, or the hazan of the land of 
Zunire. 


(7. Included between the roost and the back of the dog 
occurs another sentence which has not been translated. 


8. Across the symbolical figures [commencement obscure] :) 
That he might not watch upon the streets of Bit-Ada. 


-(g. Between the scorpion and the back of the snake.) 


® Here are two very obscure words. 


BABYLONIAN PRIVATE CONTRACTS 291 
That he may pay the rent of the land. 
(10. Over the head of the snake.) 


That in his abode, there may not be any power, any judge, 
any implorer. 


CONTRACT OF HANKAS 


(The fourth monument of the reign of Marduk-idin-akhe 
is a black basalt stone of nearly the same size and arrangement 
as the preceding. At the top we also see analogous symbols 
disposed in a similar way. The inscription has but two col- 
ums, and occupies but one side of the monument; on the other, 
the image of the King is engraved, and near the garment of the 
King, represented by the basso-relievo, the three lines of the 
beginning are repeated at the end of the document. ) 


By this table, the author of the everlasting limits has forever 
perpetuated his name.?° 

25 hins‘ of corn are sufficient to seed an arura,? in a field 
lying on the bank of the river Besim, belonging to Hankas. 

In length * above toward the North, adjoining the property 
of Hankas; in length below toward the South, adjoining the 
property of Imbiyati; in breadth above toward the West, ad- 
joining the property of Hankas; in breadth below toward the 
East, limited by the river Besim. 

Such is what Marduk-nasir, Captain of the King, has re- 
ceived from the hands of Nis-Bel, son of Hankas. He has paid 
the price for it. Sapiku son of Itti-Marduk-balat, son of 
Zikar-Ea, is the measurer* of the field. 


Weights of 
1 Chariot with its team of horses 5 100 silver 
6 Harnesses ZOO ic 
1 Ass from Pheenicia RO me 
6 Harnesses, 1 Ass from Phoenicia al Gat 
10 See at the end. F a_ royal donation: it is not clear 
1 These 25 hins represent 75 litres, 16 whether the below-mentioned objects 
allons and a half, for seeding a sur- are the price, or if, what is much more 
Fe of 207 acres. verisimilar, they are only the accessoria 
2 The great U, or arura. : of the field. _ 
8 Again in this deed no statement is “Measurer is expressed by ‘“ masi- 
iven in account of the measurings. ve j 
The space is determined merely by the 5Cf. 1 Kings x. 29: “A _ chariot 


indication of the boundaries. ++ « Of Egypt for 600 shckels of 
This document is also the charter of silver; and a horse for 150.” 


292 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 

Weights of 

1 Mule I5 silver 
1 Cow (pregnant) 20a 
30 Measures of corn, 60 Measures of 12 epha® 137 “ 
1 Hemicorion, 10 Shovels of 4 epha LO ec 
2 Dogs, good 1 aa oy 
9g Greyhounds from the East 13%) 
1 Hunting dog a oh 
1 Shepherd dog ey 
1 Dog (bloodhound 7) Oey 

Total 616*® (weights of) silver. 


Such is what Nis-Bel, son of Hankas, has paid in the hands 
of Marduk-nasir, Captain of the King, as equivalent of the 
price of a field of 25 hins of (grain). 

At any epoch whatever, in the days to come (or process of 
time) either an aklu,® or a no-servant, or a farmer, or a 
husbandman, or a workman, or any other guardian who pre- 
sents himself, and who settles in the house of Hankas, and will 
endeavor to lay waste this field, will earn its first-fruits, will 
turn it over, will plough it (mix up the earth), will have it 
put under water, who will occupy this property by fraud or 
violence and will settle in its territories, either in the name of 
the god, or in the name of the King, or in the name of the 
representative of the Lord of the country, or in the name of 
the representative of the house, or in the name of any person 
whatever, whoever he may be, who will give it, will earn the 
harvest of the land, will say,?° “ These fields are not granted 
as gifts by the King ”; whether he pronounce against them the 
holy malediction or he swears by these words, “ The head is 
not the head ”; and establish anyone therein, in saying, ‘ There 
is no eye”; or who will carry away this tablet, or will throw 
it into the river, or will break it into pieces, or will bury it 
under a heap of stones, or will burn it by fire, or will bury it 
in the earth, or wili hide it in a dark place, that man (shall be 
cursed) : 


6It is a question here of the utensils 
used for measuring, viz., thirty of one 
kind, and sixty of another. 

* The quality of the dogs is somewhat 
uncertain. ye 

® There is evidently a fault in the 
total number, 616 instead of 716. 


A weight of silver may be an obolus, 
the 360th part of a mina. 

® The “ akli,”? who were at the royal 
court, may have been legists. 

10 All these are formule solennes, as 
in the Roman law. 


BABYLONIAN PRIVATE CONTRACTS 293 


May the god Anu, Bel, Hea, the great gods, afflict him and 
curse him with maledictions which are not (retracted). 

May the god Sin, the splendid in the high heaven, envelop 
all his members with incurable leprosy until the day of his 
death ; and expel him to the farthest limits like a wild beast. 

May Samas, the Judge of heaven and earth, fly before him; 
that he change into darkness the light of the day. 

May Istar, the Sovereign, the Queen of the gods, load him 
with infirmities and anguish of illness like arrows, may she 
increase (day and night his pains,) so that he runs about like 
a dog, in the ways of his town. 

May Marduk, the King of heaven and earth, the Lord of the 
eternity without end, entangle his weapons with bonds which 
cannot be broken. 

May Ninip, the god of crops and boundaries, sweep away 
its limits and tread upon his crops, and remove its limit. 

May Gula, the mother (nurse), the great Lady, infect his 
bowels with a poison, and that he void pus and blood like 
water. 

May Bin, the supreme Guardian of heaven and earth, in- 
undate his field likea . . . 

May Serah suffocate his first-born. 

May Nabu, the holy minister of the gods, continually pour 
over his destinies laments and curses; and blast his wishes. 

May all the great gods whose name is invoked on this table, 
devote him to vengeance and scorn, and may his name, his 
race, his fruits, his offspring, before the face of men perish 
wretchedly. 

By this table, the author of the everlasting limits has forever 
perpetuated his name. 


TRANSLATION OF AN UNEDITED FRAGMENT 


Five-sixths of an artaba* of corn sows an arura, a field 
situated on the Euphrates. 


Adjoining.) s » iad Ys Wideyoissivness padjoining 

a field in great measure . . . Zirbet-u-Alzu 

and for the days to come he has given . . . this 

table . . . sin-idin . . . son of Tuklat-habal-Mar- 
1 Obscure. to seed this very fertile field is only 79 


2 The artaba was 3 epha, 18 hins; the pints. 
mentioned quantity of 15 hins necessary 


294 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


duk, Governor of the town of Nisin. Bani-Marduk, son of 


Tuklat heii). Malik-kilim){ son vote aklat isis. xa Chiet 
offi wens gocAn-salid 2) ob bsonviet YZab-zib-malik 5 ae 
Malik-habal-idin, of the town of Balaki . . . Chief of 
Sin-idin-habal . . . May he cause him to perish 


and his offering.® 


GREAT INSCRIPTION IN THE PALACE OF KHOR- 
SABAD 


TRANSLATED BY Dr. JULIUS OPPERT 


HE document of which I publish a translation has been 

copied with admirable precision by M. Botta in his 

“ Monuments de Ninive.” There are four specimens 

of this same text in the Assyrian palace, which bear the title 
of Inscriptions of the Halls, Nos. iv, vii, viii, and x. 

There is another historical document in the palace of Khor- 
sabad containing more minute particulars, and classed in a 
chronological order, which I translated in my “ Dur-Sar- 
kayan,” 1870, and in the “ Records of the Past,” Vol. VII. 

The several copies of this document have been united in one 
sole text in a work which I published in common with M. 
Ménant in the “ Journal Asiatique,”’ 1863. 

I published my translation of the “ Great Inscriptions of 
Khorsabad,” in the “ Annales de Philosophie Chrétienne,” 
July and August, 1862, tom. V (New Series), p. 62; then in 
my “Inscriptions des Sargontdes,”’ p. 20 (1862). The same 
text was inserted in the work which I edited in communion 
with my friend M. Joachim Ménant, entitled “ La Grande In- 
scription des Salles de Khorsabad,’ “Journal Asiatique,”’ 
1863. Some passages have been since corrected by me in my 
“ Dur-Sarkayan,’ Paris, 1870, in the great work of M. Victor 
Place, and these corrections have been totally admitted by M. 
Ménant in a translation which he has given in his book, “ An- 
nales des Rois d’Assynie,’ Paris, 1874, p. 180. As the reader 
may easily convince himself in collating it with my previous 
attempts, this present translation is now amended according to 


® Dr. Oppert copied this text twenty since that time any other piece of the 
years ago; he does not know whether stone has been discovered. 


INSCRIPTION OF THE PALACE OF KHORSABAD 


295 


the exigencies of the progressing science of Assyriology, as it 


is now understood. 


GREAT INSCRIPTION OF THE PALACE OF KHOR- 
SABAD 


1 Palace of Sargon, the great King, the powerful King, 


1 Orchoé 
certainly the Warka of the present day; 
Sippara, Sofeira; 


bible) is Mugheir; 


Mésopot.,” i. p. 255 
2 The old empire Bal-bat-ki. 


King of the legions, King of Assyria, Viceroy of the gods 
at Babylon, King of the Sumers and of the Accads, favorite 
of the great gods. 

The gods Assur, Nebo, and Merodach have conferred on 
me the royalty of the nations, and they have propagated 
the memory of my fortunate name to the ends of the earth. 
I have followed the reformed precepts of Sippara, Nipur, 
Babylon, and Borsippa; I have amended the imperfections 
which the men of all laws had admitted. 

I have reunited the dominions of Kalu, Ur, Orchoé, Erikhi, 
Larsa,’ Kullab, Kisik, the dwelling-place of the god La- 
guda; I have subdued their inhabitants. As to the laws 
of Sumer? and of the town of Harran, which had fallen 
into desuetude from the most ancient times, I have restored 
to fresh vigor their forgotten customs. 

4 The great gods have made me happy by the constancy of 
their affection, they have granted me the exercise of my 
sovereignty over all kings; they have re-established obedi- 
ence upon them all. From the day of my accession there 
existed no princes who were my masters; I have not, in 
combats or battles, seen my victor. I have crushed the 
territories of the rebels like straws, and I have struck them 
with the plagues of the four elements. I have opened in- 
numerable deep and very extensive forests, I have levelled 
their inequalities. I have traversed winding and thick 
valleys, which were impenetrable, like a needle, and I 
passed in digging tanks dug on my way. 


the Erech of the Bible, is these texts the identification with As- 


sur occurs nowhere. I therefore tran- 
scribe ‘“* Sumer,’’ which was the true 
name of the people and the language 
named wrongly Accadian. The term of 
‘Sumerian ’”’ is supported by MM. 
Ménant, Eneberg, Gelzer, Praetorius, 
Delitzsch, Olshausen, and other schol- 


Nipur, Niffar; Lar- 
Ur (the Ur of the 
Kullab and Erikhi 
**Expéd. en 


The syl- 


Senkereh. 


unknown. (See 
et seq. 


labaries explain this ideogram by “‘As- ars. 
sur,” but it is very awkward that in 


296 
5 


CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


By the grace and power of the great gods, my Masters, I 
have flung my arms; by my force I have defeated my ene- 
mies. I have ruled from Iatnan,? which is in the middle 
of the sea of the setting sun, to the frontiers of Egypt and 
of the country of the Moschians, over vast Phoenicia, the 
whole of Syria, the whole of guti muski* of distant Media, 
near the country of Bikni, to the country of Ellip, from Ras 
which borders upon Elam, to the banks of the Tigris, to 
the tribes of Itu, Rubu, Haril, Kaldud, Hauran, Ubul, 
Ruhua, of the Litai who dwell on the borders of the Su- 
rappi and the Ukne, Gambul, Khindar, and Pukud.® I have 
reigned over the suti hunters who are in the territory of 
Iatbur, in whatever it was as far as the towns of Samhun, 
Bab-Dur, Dur-Tilit, Khilikh, Pillat, Dunni-Samas, Bubi, 
Tell-Khumba, which are in the dependency of Elam,® and 
Kar-duniyas* Upper and Lower, of the countries of Bit- 


- Amukkan, Bit-Dakkur, Bit-Silan, Bit-Sa’alla, which to- 


6 


7 


8 


gether form Chaldea in its totality, over the country of Bit- 
Takin, which is on the sea-shore, as far as the frontier of 
Dilmun. I have received their tributes, I have established 
my Lieutenants over them as Governors, and I have re- 
duced them under my suzerainty. 

This is what I did from the beginning of my reign to my 
fifteenth year of reign: 

I defeated Khumbanigas, King of Elam, in the plains of 
Kalu. 

I besieged and occupied the town of Samaria, and took 
27,280 of its inhabitants captive. I took from them 50 
chariots, but left them the rest of their belongings. I 
placed my Lieutenants over them; I renewed the obliga- 
tion imposed upon them by one of the Kings who preceded 
Tele 

Hanun, King of Gaza, and Sebech, Sultan® of Egypt, 
allied themselves at Rapih ?° to oppose me, and fight against 


8“ Ttanus,” or Yatnan, in the island 
of Crete, became afterward the name 
of the island of Cyprus. i 

“For the words in italics no satis- 
factory translation has as yet been 
found. ' 

5 The “‘ Pekod ”’ of the Bible (Jer. i. 
are) ezrek. xxiii! ?29), 

6 Which belongs to Elam. 

™Lower Chaldea. Nearly all the 


names of the Elamite towns are Semitic 
(see Gen. x. 22), but the Susian ones 
are not. 

8 Tiglatpileser, whom Sargon would 
not acknowledge. ; 

® This is the word “siltan,” the 
Hebrew ‘“shilton’” (‘“‘ power’), the 
Arabic ‘ sultan.” ‘ 

10 Raphia, near the frontier of Egypt. 


INSCRIPTION OF THE PALACE OF KHORSABAD 297 


me; they came before me, I put them to flight. Sebech 
yielded before my cohorts, he fled, and no one has ever 
seen any trace of him since. I took with my own hand 
Hanun, King of Gaza. 

9g I imposed a tribute on Pharaoh, King of Egypt; Samsie, 
Queen of Arabia ; It-amar, the Sabean, of gold, sweet smell- 
ing herbs of the land, horses, and camels. 

10 Kiakku of Sinukhta had despised the god Assur, and re- 
fused submission to him. I took him prisoner, and seized 
his 30 chariots and 7,350 of his soldiers. I gave Sinuhta, 
the town of his royalty, to Matti from the country of Tuna, 
I added some horses and asses to the former tribute and 
appointed Matti as Governor. 

11 Amris of Tabal, had been placed upon the throne of Khulli 
his father ; I gave to him a daughter and I gave him Cilicia ? 
which had never submitted to his ancestors. But he did 
not keep the treaty and sent his ambassador to Urzaha, 
King of Armenia, and to Mita, King of the Moschians, 
who had seized my provinces. I transported Amris to 
Assyria, with his belongings, the members of his ancestors’ 
families, and the magnates of the country, as well as 100 
chariots ; I established some Assyrians, devoted to my gov- 
ernment, in their places. I appointed my Lieutenan: Gov- 
ernor over them, and commanded tributes to be levied 
upon them. 

12 Jaubid of Hamath, a smith,” was not the legitimate master 
of the throne, he was an infidel and an impious man, and 
he had coveted the royalty of Hamath. He incited the 
towns of Arpad, Simyra, Damascus, and Samaria to rise 
against me, took his precautions with each of them, and 
prepared for battle. I counted all the troops of the god 
Assur; in the town of Karkar which had declared itself 
for the rebel, I besieged him and his warriors, I occupied 
Karkar and reduced it to ashes. I took him, himself, and 
had him flayed, and I killed the chief of the rioters in each 
town, and reduced them to a heap of ruins. I recruited 
my forces with 200 chariots and 600 horsemen from among 


1 Khilakku. It seems to be identical 2 The condition of Jaubid before his 
with the ‘“‘Sparda”’ of Persian, the accession, 
“* Sepharad ” of Obadiah. 


298 


13 


14 


15 


CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


the inhabitants of the country of Hamath and added them 
to my empire. 

Whilst Iranzu of Van®* lived, he was subservient and de- 
voted to my rule, but fate removed him. His subjects 
placed his son Aza on the throne. Urzaha the Armenian 
intrigued with the people of Mount Mildis, Zikirta, Misi- 
andi, with the nobles of Van, and enticed them to rebellion ; 
they threw the body of their Master Aza on the top of the 
mountains. Ullusun of Van, his brother, whom they had 
placed on his father’s throne, did homage to Urzaha, and 
gave him 22 fortresses with their garrisons. In the anger 
of my heart I counted all the armies of the god Assur, I 
watched like a lion in ambush and advanced to attack these 
countries. Ullusun of Van saw my expedition approach- 
ing, he set out with his troops and took up a strong position 
in the ravines of the high mountains, I occupied Izirti the 
town of his royalty, and the towns of Izibia and Armit, his 
formidable fortresses, I reduced them to ashes. I killed 
all that belonged to Urzaha the Armenian, in these high 
mountains. I took with my own hand 250 royal members 
of his family. I occupied 55 royal towns of which 8 were 
ordinary towns and II impregnable fortresses. I reduced 
them to ashes. I incorporated the 22 strong towns, that 
Ullusun of Van had delivered to him with Assyria. I occu- 
pied 8 strong cities of the country of Tuaya and the districts 
of Tilusina of Andia; 4,200 men, with their belongings, 
were carried away into slavery. 

Mitatti, of Zikirta, had secured himself against my arms; 
he and the men of his country had fled into the forests ; 
no trace of them was to be seen. I reduced Parda, the 
town of his royalty to ashes; I occupied twenty-three great 
towns in the environs, and I spoiled them. The cities of 
Suandakhul and Zurzukka, of the country of Van, took 
the part of Mitatti; I occupied and pillaged them. Then I 
took Bagadatti of the Mount Mildis, and I had him flayed. 
I banished Dayaukku and his suite to Hamath, and I made 
them dwell there. 

Then Ullusun heard in his high mountains of my glorious 
exploits: he departed in haste like a bird, and kissed my 


Or Minni. 


16 


17 


18 


19 


20 


2I 


22 


INSCRIPTION OF THE PALACE OF KHORSABAD 299 


feet; I pardoned his innumerable misdeeds, and I blotted 
out his iniquities. I granted pardon to him; I replaced 
him upon the throne of his royalty. I gave him the two 
fortresses and the 22 great towns that I had taken away 
from Urzaha and Mitatti. I endeavored to restore peace 
to his country. I made the image of my Majesty: I wrote 
on it the glory of the god Assur, my Master, I erected many 
fac-similes of it in Izirti, the town of his royalty. 

I imposed a tribute of horses, oxen, and lambs upon Ianzu, 
King of the river country, in Hupuskia, the town of his 
power. 

Assurlih, of Kar-Alla, Itti, of Allapur, had sinned against 
Assur and despised his power. I had Assurlih flayed. I 
banished the men of Kar-Alla, whoever they were, and Itti, 
with his suite, I placed them in Hamath. 

I took the inhabitants of the towns of Sukkia, Bala, 
Ahitikna, Pappa,* Lallukni away from their homes; I made 
them dwell at Damascus in Syria. 

I occupied the 6 towns of the country of Niksamma, I took 
with my own hand Nirisar, Governor of the town of Sur- 
gadia; I added these towns to the satrapy of Parsuas.® 
Bel-sar-usur ®° was King of the town of Kisisim; I had him 
transported to Assyria with all that he possessed, his treas- 
ure, the contents of his palace; I put my Lieutenant in as 
Governor of the town, to which I gave the name of Kar- 
Marduk. I had an image made of my Majesty and erected 
it in the middle of the town. I occupied 6 towns in the 
neighborhood and I added them to his government. 

I attacked and conquered Kibaba, Prefect of the town of 
Kharkhar, I took him and the inhabitants of his country 
captive, I rebuilt this city and made the inhabitants of the 
provinces, that my arm had conquered, live there. I placed 
my Lieutenant as Governor over them. I named the town 
Kar-Sarkin; I established the worship of the god Assur, 
my Master, there. I erected an image of my Royal self. 
I occupied 6 towns in the environs, and added them to his 
government. 

I besieged and took the towns of Tel-Akhi-tub, Khindau, 
Bagai, and Anzaria; I transported the inhabitants of them 


“It seems not to be Paphos, 5 Parthia(?). 6 The same name as Belshazzar. 


300 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


to Assyria. I rebuilt them; I gave them the names of 
Kar-Nabu, Kar-Sin, Kar-Ben, Kar-Istar. 

23 To maintain my position in Media, I have erected fortifi- 
cations in the neighborhood of Kar-Sarkin. I occupied 
34 towns in Media and annexed them to Assyria and I 
levied annual tributes of horses upon them. 

24 I besieged and took the town of Eristana, and the surround- 
ing towns in the country of Bait-lli; I carried away the 
spoil. 

25 The countries of Agag’? and Ambanda,® in Media, opposite 
the Arabs of the East, had refused their tributes, I de- 
stroyed them, laid them waste, and burnt them by fire. 

26 Dalta of Ellip was subject to me, and devoted to the wor- 
ship of Assur; 5 of his towns revolted and no longer recog- 
nized his dominion. I came to his aid, I besieged and 
occupied these towns, I carried the men and their goods 
away into Assyria with numberless horses. 

27 Urzana, of the town of Musasir, had attached himself to 
Urzaha the Armenian, and had refused me his allegiance. 
With the multitude of my army, I covered the city of Musa- 
sir as if it were with ravens, and he to save his life, fled 
alone into the mountains. 

28 I entered as a Ruler into Musasir. I seized as spoil Ur- 
zana’s wife, sons and daughters, his money, his treasures, all 
the stores of his palace whatever they were, with 20,100 
men and all that they possessed, the gods Haldia and Baga- 
barta, his gods, and their holy vessels in great numbers. 

29 Urzaha, King of Armenia, heard of the defeat of Musasir 
and the carrying away of the god Haldia ® his god, he cut 
off his life by his own hands with a dagger of his girdle. 
I held a severe judgment over the whole of Armenia. I 
spread over the men, who inhabit this country, mourning 
and lamentation. 

30 Tarhunazi, of the town of Melid, sought for revenge. He 
sinned against the laws of the great gods, and refused his 

-submission. In the anger of my heart, I crushed like 


7 This Agag is iat ¢ possibly the coun- _the god Haldi as god of the Armenians, 
try of Haman the Agagite, if we must which proves more forcibly than ever 


not read Agaz. h that the syllabary of the Armenian in- 
8 Ambanda is perhaps the Median scriptions is the same as the Assyrian 
** Kampanda.” syllabary. 


® We find in the inscriptions of Van, 


31 


32 


33 


INSCRIPTION OF THE PALACE OF KHORSABAD 301 


briars Melid, which was the town of his kingdom, and the 
neighboring towns. I made him, his wife, sons and daugh- 
ters, the slaves of his palace whoever they were, with 5,000 
warriors, leave Tel-Garimmi; I treated them all as booty. 
I rebuilt Tel-Garimmi; I had it entirely occupied by some 
archers from the country of Khammanua, which my hand 
had conquered, and I added it to the boundaries of this 
country. I put it in the hands of my Lieutenant, and I 
restituted the surface of the dominion, as it had been in 
the time of Gunzinan, the preceding King. 

Tarhular, of Gamgum, had a son Muttallu, who had mur- 
dered his father by the arms, and sat on the throne against 
my will, and to whom they had intrusted their country. 
In the anger of my heart, I hastily marched against the 
town of Markasi, with my chariots and horsemen, who 
followed on my steps. I treated Muttallu, his son and the 
families of the country of Bit-Pa’alla in its totality, as cap- 
tives, and seized as booty the gold and silver and the num- 
berless treasures of his palace. I reinstated the men of 
Gamgum and the neighboring tribes, and placed my Lieu- 
tenant as Governor over them; I treated them like the 
Assyrians. 

Azuri, King of Ashdod,’® determined within himself to 
render no more tributes; he sent hostile messages against 
Assyria to the neighboring kings. I meditated vengeance 
for this, and I withdrew from him the government over 
his country. I put his brother Akhimit on his throne. 
But the people of Syria, eager for revolt, got tired of Ak- 
himit’s rule, and installed Jaman, who like the former, was 
not the legitimate master of the throne. In the anger of 
my heart, I did not assemble the bulk of my army nor 
divide my baggage, but I marched against Ashdod with 
my warriors, who did not leave the trace of my feet. 
Iaman learnt from afar of the approach of my expedition ; 
he fled beyond Egypt toward Libya (Meluhhi),? and no 
one ever saw any further trace of him. I besieged and 
took Ashdod and the town of Gimtu-Asdudim ;? I carried 


10 See Isaiah xx. 1. mame seems to be the “ Milyes” of 
1 Meluhhi is not Méroe, but Libya, Herodotus. | p 
and especially the Marmarica. he 2** Asdudim ” seems to be a Hebraic 


plural. 


302 


34 


35 


36 


CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


away captive Iaman’s gods, his wife, his sons, his daugh- 
ters, his money, and the contents of his palace, together 
with the inhabitants of his country. I built these towns 
anew and placed in them the men that my arm had con- 
quered. 

I placed my Lieutenant as Governor over them, and I 
treated them as Assyrians. They never again became 
guilty of impiety. 

The King of Libya ® lives in the middle of the desert, in an 
inaccessible place, at (a month’s) journey. From the most 
remote times until the renewal of the lunar period‘ his 
fathers had sent no ambassadors to the kings, my ancestors, 
to ask for peace and friendship and to acknowledge the 
power of Merodach. But the immense terror inspired by 
my Majesty roused him, and fear changed his intentions. 
In fetters of iron he threw him (Iaman), directed his steps 
toward Assyria and kissed my feet. 

Muttallu, of Commagene, a fraudulent and hostile man, 
did not honor the memory of the gods, he plotted a con- 
spiracy, and meditated defection. He trusted upon Ar- 
gisti,> King of Armenia, an helper who did not assist him, 
took upon himself the collection of the tributes and his 
part of the spoil, and refused me his submission. In the 
anger of my heart, I took the road to his country with the 
chariots of my power, and the horsemen who never left 
the traces of my feet. Muttallu saw the approach of my 
expedition, he withdrew his troops, and no one saw any 
further trace of him. I besieged and occupied his capital 
and 62 large towns all together. I carried away his wife, 
his sons, his daughters, his money, his treasure, all precious 
things from his palace, together with the inhabitants of his 
country as spoil, I left none of them. I inaugurated this 
town afresh; I placed in it men from the country of Bit- 


8’ Meluhhi. This is the only passage ure of Babylon by the Medes. This date 


where small gaps occur. commences the real history; previous 
*This is one of the most important to this time reigned the 86 princes dur- 
passages of the text; the period is the ing twelve lunar periods of 1,805, and 
Chaldean eclipse period of 1,805 years, twelve solar periods of 1,460 years, viz., 
and ended in 712 B.c. Instead of this 39,180 years. The very event may have 
assage, the Stele of Larnaca, now in ap ya eleven years afterward, 2506 
erlin, has, “from the remotest times, The Deluge ag pai scanty 
the beginning of Assyria, until now.’ nih the Chaldeans, in 4169 
The commencement of the period, 2517 5 This royal name is still found in the 
B.C., coincided very nearly with the capt- Armenian texts of Van. 


37 


38 


INSCRIPTION OF THE PALACE OF KHORSABAD = 303 


Iakin, that my arm had conquered. I instituted my Lieu- 
tenant as Governor, and subdued them under my rule. I 
previously took from them 150 chariots, 1,500 horsemen, 
20,000 archers, I,000 men armed with shields and lances, 
and I confided the country to my Satrap. 

While Dalta, King of Ellip, lived, he was submissive and 
devoted to my rule, the infirmities of age however came 
and he walked on the path of death. Nibie and Ispabara, 
the sons of his wives, claimed both the vacant throne of 
his royalty, the country and the taxes, and they fought a 
battle. Nibie applied to Sutruk-Nakhunti® King of Elam 
to support his claims, giving to him pledges for his alliance, 
and the other came as a helper. Ispabara, on his side, 
implored me to maintain his cause, and to encourage him, 
at the same time bowing down, and humbling himself, and 
asking my alliance. I sent seven of my Lieutenants with 
their armies to support his claims, they put Nibie and the 
army of the four rivers,’ which had helped him, to flight, 
at the town of Mareobisti. I reinstated Ispabara on the 
throne; I re-established peace in his country, and confided 
it to his care. | 

Merodach-Baladan, son of Iakin,* King of Chaldza, the 
fallacious, the persistent in enmity, did not respect the 
memory of the gods, he trusted in the sea, and in the re- 
treat of the marshes; he eluded the precepts of the great 
gods, and refused to send his tributes. He had supported 
as an ally Khumbanigas, King of Elam. He had excited 
all the nomadic tribes of the desert against me. He pre- 
pared himself for battle, and advanced. During twelve 
years,® against the will of the gods of Babylon, the town 
of Bel which judges the gods, he had excited the country 
of the Sumers and Accads, and had sent ambassadors to 
them. In honor of the god Assur, the father of the gods, 
and of the great and august Lord Merodach, I roused my 
courage, I prepared my ranks for battle. JI decreed an 
expedition against the Chaldeans, an impious and riotous 
people. Merodach-Baladan heard of the approach of my 


® The inscriptions of this prince are ® The same who occurs in the Ptole- 
translated in the seventh volume. j maic canon (721-709). 
Elam. We are now certain of this ® From 721 to 709 B.C. 


identification, 


304 


10 32 m. 91 cm., 39 yds. 2 


CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


expedition, dreading the terror of his own warriors, he fled 
before it, and flew in the night time like an owl, falling back 
from Babylon, to the town of Ikbibel. He assembled to- 
gether the towns possessing oracles, and the gods living 
in these towns he brought to save them to Dur-Iakin, forti- 
fying its walls. He summoned the tribes of Gambul, 
Pukud, Tamun, Ruhua,and Khindar, put them in this place, 
and prepared for battle. He calculated the extent of a 
plethrum *° in front of the great wall. He constructed a 
ditch 200 spans? wide, and deep one fathom and a half.” 
The conduits of water, coming from the Euphrates, flowed 
out into this ditch; he had cut off the course of the river, 
and divided it into canals, he had surrounded the town, 
the place of his revolt, with a dam, he had filled it with 
water, and cut off the conduits. Merodach-Baladan, with 
his allies and his soldiers had the insignia of his royalty 
kept as in an island on the banks of the river; he arranged 
his plan of battle. I stretched my combatants all along 
the river dividing them into bands; they conquered the 
enemies. By the blood of the rebels the waters of these 
canals reddened like dyed wool. The nomadic tribes 
were terrified by this disaster which surprised him and fled ; 
I completely separated his allies and the men of Marsan 
from him; I filled the ranks of the insurgents with mortal 
terror. He left in his tent the insignia of his royalty, the 
golden . . .° the golden throne, the golden parasol, 
the golden sceptre, the silver chariot, the golden orna- 
ments, and other effects of considerable weight; he fled 
alone, and disappeared like the ruined battlements of his 
fortress, and I entered into his retreat, I besieged and 
occupied the town of Dur-Iakin, I took as spoil and made 
captive, him, his wife, his sons, his daughters, the gold 
and silver and all that he possessed, the contents of his 
palace, whatever it was, with considerable booty from the 
town. I made each family and every man who had with- 
drawn himself from my arms, accountable for this sin. I 
reduced Dur-Iakin the town of his power to ashes. I un- 
dermined and destroyed its ancient forts. I dug up the 


m. 94 cm., 1714 ft, 


4 
154 m.-85 cm., 65 yds. MENA ag ® Unexplained. 


39 


40 


4I 


INSCRIPTION OF THE PALACE OF KHORSABAD - 305 


foundation stone;* I made it like a thunder-stricken ruin. 
I allowed the people of Sippara, Nipur, Babylon, and Bor- 
sippa, who live in the middle of the towns to exercise their 
profession, to enjoy their belongings in peace, and I have 
watched upon them. I took away the possession of the 
fields which from remote times had been in the hand of 
the Suti Nomad, and restored them to their rightful owners. 
I placed the nomadic tribes of the desert again under my 
yoke, and I restored the forgotten land delimitations which 
had existed during the tranquillity of the land. I gave to 
each of the towns of Ur, Orchoé, Erikhi, Larsa, Kullab, 
and Kisik, the dwelling of the god Laguda, the god that 
resides in each, and I restored the gods who had been 
taken away, to their sanctuaries. I re-established the 
altered laws in full force. 

I imposed tributes on the countries of Bet-Iakin, the high 
and low part, and on the towns of Samhun, Bab-Dur, Dur- 
Tilit, Bubi, Tell-Khumba, which are the resort of Elam. 
I transplanted into Elam the inhabitants of the Comma- 
gene, in Syria, that I had attacked with my own hand, 
obeying the commands of the great gods my Masters, and 
I placed them on the territory of Elam, in the town of 
Sakbat. Nabu-Pakid-Ilan was authorized to collect the 
taxes from the Elamites in order to govern them; I claimed 
as a pledge the town of Birtu. I placed all this country 
in the hands of my Lieutenant at Babylon and my Lieu- 
tenant in the country of Gambul.® » 

I returned alone to Babylon, to the sanctuaries of Bel, the 
judge of the gods, in the excitement of my heart and the 
splendor of my appearance; I took the hands of the great 
Lord, the august god Merodach, and I traversed the way 
to the chamber of the spoil. 

I transported into it 154 talents 26 minas 1e drachms of 
gold russt;® 1804 talents 20 minas of silver; ivory, a 
great deal of copper, iron in an innumerable quantity, 
some of the stone ka, alabaster, the minerals pi digili, 
flattened p71 sirru for witness seals, blue and purple stufts 


«“* Timin,” not ‘ cylinder.’”’ ‘ drachm is nearly 3s., a royal mina £9: 
5 Only two years after the commence- the state drachm and mina is the hat! 

ment of the war. of it. A_ silver talent is always verr 
© 12,544, pd. troy 68. close to £270 sterling. 


7 152,227, pd. troy, 75. A royal silver 


20 


306 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


cloth of berom and cotton, ebony ; cedar, and cypress wood, 
freshly cut from the fine forests on Mount Amanus, in 
honor of Bel, Zarpanit, Nebo, and Tasmit, and the gods 
who inhabit the sanctuaries of the Sumers and Accads; all 
that from my accession to the third year of my reign.® 

42 Upir, King of Dilmun who dwells at the distance of 30 
parasanges ® in the midst of the sea of the rising sun and 
who is established as a fish, heard of the favor that the gods 
Assur, Nebo, and Merodach had accorded me; he sent 
therefore his expiatory gift. 

43 And the seven Kings of the country of Iahnagi, of the 
country of Iatnan (who have established and extended 
their dwellings at a distance of seven days’ navigation in 
the midst of the sea of the setting sun, and whose name 
from the most ancient ages until the renewal of the lunar 
period,’® none of the Kings my fathers in Assyria and 
Chaldea+ had heard), had been told of my lofty achieve- 
ments in Chaldea and Syria, and my glory, which had 
spread from afar to the midst of the sea. They subdued 
their pride and humbled themselves ; they presented them- 
selves before me at Babylon, bearing metals, gold, silver, 
vases, ebony wood, and the manufactures of their country ; 
they kissed my feet. 

44 While I endeavored to exterminate Bet-Iakin and reduce 
Aram, and render my rule more efficacious in the country 
of Iatbur, which is beyond Elam, my Lieutenant, the Gov- 
ernor of the country of Kue, attacked Mita, the Moschian, 
and 3,000 of his towns; he demolished these towns, de- 
stroyed them, burnt them with fire, and led away many 
captives. And this Mita the Moschian, who had never 
submitted to the Kings my predecessors and had never 
changed his will, sent his envoy to me to the very borders 
of the sea of the rising sun, bearing professions of al- 
legiance and tributes. 

45 In these days, these nations and these countries that my 
hand has conquered, and that the gods Assur, Nebo, and 
Merodach have made bow to my feet, followed the ways 

® Sargon speaks of his third “ year” 10 This is the second passage where 
and not of his third campaign, in order Sargon alludes to this period ending 

o mark what he had already accom- under his reign. 


t 
plished before the year 717. 1“ Karduniyas,” 
® One hundred and ten English miles, 7 


INSCRIPTION OF THE PALACE OF KHORSABAD — 307 


of piety. With their help I built at the feet of the musri, 
following the divine will and the wish of my heart, a town 
that I called Dur-Sarkin* to replace Nineveh.* Nisroch,* 
Sin, Samas, Nebo, Bin, Ninip, and their great spouses, 
who procreate eternally in the lofty temple of the upper 
and the nether world (Aralli) blessed the splendid wonders, 
the superb streets in the town of Dur-Sarkin. I reformed 
the institutions which were not agreeable to their ideas. 
The priests, the nist ramki, the surmahhi supar disputed 
at their learned discussions about the pre-eminence of 
their divinities, and the efficacy of their sacrifices. 


46 I built in the town some palaces covered with the skin of 


3Or 
passes rapidly over some other peculli- 
arities which he inserts in other texts, 
namely, the measures of the town, and 
the ceremonies of its edification. The 


the sea-calf,° and of sandal wood, ebony, the wood of mas- 
tic tree, cedar, cypress, wild pistachio nut tree, a palace of 
incomparable splendor, as the seat of my royalty. I 
placed their dunu upon tablets of gold, silver, alabaster, 
tilpe stones, parut stones, copper, lead, iron, tin, and khibisti 
made of earth. I wrote thereupon the glory of the gods. 
Above I built a platform of cedar beams. I bordered the 
doors of pine and mastic wood with bronze garnitures, 
and I calculated their distance. I made a spiral staircase 
similar to the one in the great temple of Syria, that is 
called in the Phoenician language, Bethilanni. Between 
the doors I placed 8 double lions whose weight is 1 ner 6 
soss, 50 talents ® of first-rate copper, made in honor of 
Mylitta ” and their four kubur in materials from 
Mount Amanus; I placed them on mirgalli.2 Over them I 
sculptured artistically a crown of beast of the fields, a bird 
in stone of the mountains. Toward the four celestial re- 
gions, I turned their front. The lintels and the uprights 
I made in large gypsum stone that I had taken away with 


was still in ruins. 
Sennacherib. 
*This is my former transcription of 
the divine name which is now pro- 
nounced Hea. But I think sincerely 


“ Dur-Sarkayan.” The King It was rebuilt by 


circuit is given as containing 3 1-3 ners 
(miles) 1 stadium 3 canes 2 spans, or 
24,740 spans, and Botta’s measurings 
afford 6,790 metres (7,427 yds.). This 
statement gives for the span, with a 
slight correction in the fourth decimal, 
27,425 CM. (10.797 a ie and for the cubit 
85 cm. 21.594 1ns.). \ 
a At this time the palace of Nineveh 


that the latter is not better than the 
former one. |. 

5 This assimilation is not quite cer- 
tain. 
® One thousand ten talents 602 cwt. 
English. 

7 Obscure. 

8 A very difficult passage; the name 
of the god Nergal does not interfere 
with the object. 


308 CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS 


47 


48 


49 
50 


SI 


52 


my own hand, I placed them above. I walled them in 
and I drew upon me the admiration of the people of the 
countries. 

From the beginning to the end, I walked worshipping the 
god Assur, and following the custom of wise men, I built 
palaces, I amassed treasures. 

In the month of blessing, on the happy day, I invoked, 
in the midst of them, Assur, the father of the gods, the 
greatest sovereign of the gods and the Istarét,? who in- 
habit Assyria. I presented vessels of glass, things in 
chased silver, ivory, valuable jewels and immense presents, 
in great quantities, and I rejoiced their heart. I ex- 
hibited sculptured idols, double and winged,some .. .?° 
winged, some . . .}? winged, serpents, fishes, and birds, 
from unknown regions and abysses, the . . .%° in high 
mountains, summits of the lands that I have conquered 
with my own hand, for the glory of my royalty. Asa wor- 
shipper of the gods and the god Assur, I sacrificed in their 
presence, with the sacrifice of white lambs, holy holocausts 
of expiation, in order to withdraw the gifts that had not 
been agreeable to the gods. 

He has granted me in his august power, a happy exist- 
ence, long life, and I obtained a constantly lucky reign. 
I have entrusted myself to his favor. 

The great Lord Bel-El, the Master of the lands, inhabits 
the lofty tracts; the gods and I/starat inhabit Assyria; 
their legions remain there in pargiti, and martakmnt. 

With the Chiefs of provinces, the Satraps, wise men, 
Astronomers, Magnates, the Lieutenants and Governors 
of Assyria, I have ruled in my palace, and administered 
justice. 

I have bid them take gold, silver, gold and silver vessels, 
precious stones, copper, iron, considerable products of 
mountains the mines of which are rich, cloth of berom and 
cotton, blue and purple cloth, amber, skins of sea-calves, 
pearls, sandal-wood, ebony, horses from higher Egypt,’ 
asses, mules, camels, oxen. With all these numerous 
tributes I have rejoiced the heart of the gods. 


® The Hebrew “ Astaroth,” which sig- 10 Obscure. i 
rani “** goddesses.” Compare Judges x. 1It is not clear what animals are 
meant. 


INSCRIPTION OF THE PALACE OF KHORSABAD = 309 


53 May Assur, the father of the gods, bless these palaces, by 
giving to his images a spontaneous splendor. May he 
watch over the issue even to the remote future. May the 
sculptured bull, the protector and god who imparts per- 
fection, dwell in day and in night-time in his presence, and 
never stir from this threshold! 

54 With the help of Assur, may the King who has built these 
palaces, attain an old age, and may his offspring multiply 
greatly! May these battlements last to the most remote 
future! May he who dwells there come forth surrounded 
with the greatest splendor; may he rejoice in his corporal 
health, in the satisfaction of his heart accomplish his 
wishes, attain his end, and may he render his magnificence 
seven times more imposing |! 


; ‘ 
to t ' \ 
} io L 
‘Ya , ‘ 
eh er ee Ah D 
TCR a . ‘ 
AAS AMIN ANSE Aa naif mee 
oh ale} Aah Ana 
j vi sp 
: as ; 
‘eee Cee S \ 
Mi ‘ *, ok a) 
we ay ii ni bag, .* 4 
VALS SR Se Creasy 


' MK J a) r “ae 
bay ON BN PON PRC OLS seer ek 
« ey be Hate pa 4 Li Ne 4 fA 


= 


) 
‘ei 
Wit 
tah; 


iG 


aia tas 


, 1) Hy 
43 Ku 
my i 


ei 


ye sth 
ln 


Avs Wills y 

ee Niet 

MA QE 
‘i iM 


" fi 
Ay 

On 1} 
Ann 


sue 
1G: COUN Wy are ie AM PPT EAG EASY 
i v salt APA eT ‘ J ‘ 
1 aK nae an A, ; 
MY OWOD YES LAER In Wan Dre nde) 4 Ny 
cua uy, KIN aes 


Vil 
* 


Pim eM tl 
on eA! 


Sei A 
ih i ae 
3 LS \ 


F F pe j £ » : 
44s ss calil pbyp Jf + aflysa 
: : f 
‘f’| ie | JTLT MeTTTT ITT ads 


Pe Nh ‘ : 
: lf iy i fi i} 4uuusy * ly Mis 
iJ 


nt pe. ie 

(Fe EE See # 

tyres » i= "ile deren x 
Coe a prea es 


gob 1. — lei 777, con 
mu efprnps bylaw te tn hn 
“171 - be sitg Aadfongh a os 
Ve “ash pes zastyus ae eh a 
ea eur Dials ee Pos 


CHOICE EXAMPLES OF PALEOGRAPHY. 


Fac-similes from Rare and Curious Manuscripts of 
Oriental Countries. 


PAGE FROM AN ARMENIAN MENOLOGY. 


Armenian manuscript, written about 1590. 


Liturgical calendars, or martyrologies, were much in demand in the early days 
of the Greek Church, owing probably to the persecution to which Armenian con- 
verts were subjected. The specimen here adjoined is inan Armenian minuscule of 
extreme beauty, and is taken from a manuscript menology, or martyrology, written 
at Ispahan, the capital-of Persia, for a church at Surat, in India. The curious capi- 
tal, formed of two birds facing each other, belongs to the style of majuscule termed 
fieurié. The present Armenian alphabet, and consequently its script and literature, 
owe their existence to the labors of an Armenian scholar named Mesrob, who flour- 
ished about 400 A.D. 


= 


4 


mre ew we ta: eran 6 agg teh wwe 


ve i 
Fe. 
A 
ver 
y" 
* 
F 4 
f j 
: i 
’ 
. es 
5 Les 
we 4 
RA 
/ ; 


id . ; ayaly yliss ‘ol at masa 29 


ago nghersort ly done Ot 


ws 
\ . i tas! | roatsanion inging ary 
; fetta nasil Bas ag es att 
~noft ose doreht é 
! ee fa : ‘ 
? 
: 
iT i t 
POT Rea 
1 Ne 
¢ : a 
: hy 
i by 3 
| ae 
Bere eS Ea 9 
is , . 


Seepvianp a Cn Br ty 


rs 
» 
Ps 
~ 
< 
ry 
a 
mn 
g 
e 
3 
a 
g 
2 
) 
3 
s 
oS 
= 
) 
ss 
2 
o 
7 
£ 
) 
Ld 
2 
jw) 
w 
a 
i) 
- 
= 
te) 
ww 
S 
. 
& 
(+) 
fe 
a 
3 
4 
a 
fe) 
4 
a 
+) 
w 
a 
le) 
J 
a 
So 
Sd 
a 
8 
w 
a 
[~} 
= 
a 
Ce) 
— 
S 
4 


4 


~ 


COCO) COVA AO IASIAOV AS ASIA 


OOOO 


OPO 


ARMENIAN 
LITERATURE 


ara £8 


p 4 
rs = = = Sey a > = 2 f 
OVOXCOM(ON« DAN WAY OTR ARY Zo) @N FAX NCD 40 YY ‘car Condon 
NS SA" PO oo 
a) 


i oo 
( 
6 COMPRISING 


ee POETRY. DRAMA, FOLK-LORE ee 
AND i | 
{ 


LO XOXOXOXO XOKXKOXOXOIS 


inh 


() 


t 


CLASSIC TRADITIONS 


{ 
TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH FOR THE FIRST TIME fog % 


WITH A SPECIAL INTRODUCTION BY 
ROBERT ARNOT, M.A. 


REVISED EDITION 


i 


4 ee IGN 
PKORGLOXOKORY ROD VOXOXOICOK OI ar! 
A a é 
DON COLONIAL CrYORR TT 
> Gj 
PRESS wae (> 
VE ny 


an 


COPYRIGHT, I9got, 


By THE COLONIAL PRESS. 


SPECIAL INTRODUCTION 


HE literature of ancient Armenia that is still extant is 
meagre in quantity and to a large extent ecclesiastical 
in tone. To realize its oriental color one must 

resort entirely to that portion which deals with the home life 
of the people, with their fasts and festivals, their emotions, 
manners, and traditions. The ecclesiastical character of much 
of the early Armenian literature is accounted for by the fact 
that Christianity was preached there in the first century after 
Christ, by the apostles Thaddeus and Bartholomew, and that 
the Armenian Church is the oldest national Christian Church 
in the world. 

It is no doubt owing to the conversion of the entire Arme- 
nian nation under the passionate preaching of Gregory the 
Illuminator that most of the literary products of primitive 
Armenia—the mythological legends and chants of heroic 
deeds sung by bards—are lost. The Church would have none 
of them. Gregory not only destroyed the pagan temples, but 
he sought to stamp out the pagan literature—the poetry and 
recorded traditions that celebrated the deeds of gods and 
goddesses and of national heroes. He would have succeeded, 
too, had not the romantic spirit of the race clung fondly to 
their ballads and folk-lore. Ecclesiastical historiographers in 
referring to those times say quaintly enough, meaning to cen- 
sure the people, that in spite of their great religious advan- 
tages the Armenians persisted in singing some of their heathen 
ballads as late as the twelfth century. Curiously enough, we 
owe the fragments we possess of early Armenian poetry to 
these same ecclesiastical critics. These fragments suggest a 
popular poesy, stirring and full of powerful imagery, em- 
ployed mostly in celebrating royal marriages, religious feasts, 
and containing dirges for the dead, and ballads of customs— 

iii 


iv SPECIAL INTRODUCTION 


not a wide field, but one invaluable to the philologist and to 
ethnological students. 

The Christian chroniclers and critics, however, while pre- 
serving but little of the verse of early Armenia, have handed 
down to us many legends and traditions, though they relate 
them, unfortunately, with much carelessness and with a con- 
tempt for detail that is often exasperating to one seeking for 
instructive parallelisms between the heroic legends of differ- 
ent nations. Evidently the only object of the ecclesiastical 
chroniclers in preserving these legends was to invest their de- 
scriptions of the times with a local color. Even Moses of 
Chorene, who by royal command collected many of these 
legends, and in his sympathetic treatment of them evinces 
poetic genius and keen literary appreciation, fails to realize 
the importance of his task. After speaking of the old Ar- 
menian kings with enthusiasm, and even condoning their 
paganism for the sake of their virility, he leaves his collection 
in the utmost disorder and positively without a note or com- 
ment. In the face of such difficulties, therefore, it has been 
hard to present specimens of early Armenian folk-lore and 
legends that shall give the reader a rightful idea of the race 
and the time. 

As Armenia was the highroad between Asia and Europe, 
these old stories and folk-plays show the influence of mi- 
grating and invading people. The mythology of the Chal- 
deans and Persians mingles oddly with traditions purely 
Armenian. This is well shown in the story of David of Sas- 
sun, given in this volume. David was the local hero of the 
place where Moses of Chorene was born and probably spent 
his declining years, after years of literary labor and study in 
Athens and Alexandria. The name of the district was Mush, 
and close by the monastery in which Moses was buried lies 
the village of Sassun. 

David’s history is rich in personal incident, and recalls to 
the reader the tales related of the Persian Izdubar, the 
Chaldeo-Babylonian Nimrod, and the Greek Heracles. He 
is as much the hero of the tale as is Joseph Andrews in Field- 
ing’s classic of that name. His marvellous strength is used 
as handily for a jest as for some prodigious victory over man 
or monster. He is drawn for us as a bold, reckless fellow, 


SPECIAL INTRODUCTION Vv 


with a rollicking sense of humor, which, in truth, sits but 
awkwardly upon the intense devotion to the Cross and its de- 
mands with which Moses or some later redactor has seen 
fit to burden this purely pagan hero. David is very human 
in spite of his blood-stained club and combative instincts, and 
his kindliness and bonhomie awake in us a passing disappoint- 
ment at his untimely demise. 

If we except some ecclesiastical writings, these fragments 
preserved by Moses of Chorene and others comprehend all that 
is left to us of the literature of Armenia antedating the Persian 
invasion. After the Persian flood of fire and sword had rolled 
over this Asiatic Poland, the stricken Christian Church re- 
vived. A monk named Mesrob set to work to revive the spirit 
of literature. His difficulties were great. It was not alone 
the resuscitating of a dead literary desire, but it entailed also 
the providing of a vehicle of expression, namely an alphabet, 
so deeply had the Persian domination imprinted itself upon the 
land. As might be expected, the primary results of the re- 
vival were didactic, speculative, or religious in character. 
Mysticism at that time flourished in the monasteries, and the 
national spirit—the customs, habits, joys, and emotions of 
the people—had not yet found re-expression in script. The 
Church became the dominant power in literature, and if it is 
true on the one hand that the Armenian people lost intellectual 
independence, it is also true on the other that they gained that 
religious zeal and strength which enabled them as an entity 
—a united race—to survive the fatal day of Avarair, where, 
under the shadow of hoary Ararat, the Armenian Marathon 
was fought and lost, and Vartan, their national hero, died. 
All sorts of traditions cluster still around the battlefield of 
Avarair. A species of red flower grows there that is no- 
where else to be found, and it is commonly believed that this 
red blossom sprang originally from the blood of the slain 
Armenian warriors. On the plain of Avarair is also found a 
small antelope with a pouch upon its breast secreting musk 
—a peculiarity gained, they say, from feeding on grass soaked 
with the blood of Armenia’s sons. And at Avarair, too, it is 
said that the lament of the nightingales is ever, “ Vartan, Var- 
tan.” The story of these times is preserved in fragments in 
the religious chronicles of Lazarus of Pharb and of Eliseus. 


vi SPECIAL INTRODUCTION 


When, during the Persian domination, Armenia became en- 
tirely shut off from the avenues of Greek culture, and was 
left unaided in her struggle for national existence, the light 
of literature again sank to a feeble gleam. There was, indeed, 
a faint revival in the tenth century, and again a second and 
a stronger renaissance in the twelfth under the impulse given 
by Nerses, and by his namesake, the Patriarch. But this re- 
vival, like the former, was not general in character. It was 
mostly a revival of religious mysticism in literature, not of 
the national spirit, though to this epoch belong the choicest 
hymnological productions of the Armenian Church. 

There are no chronicles extant that can be called purely 
Armenian. The oldest chronicles that we have of Armenia 
—and there are many—wander off into the histories of other 
people—of the Byzantines, for instance, and even of the Cru- 
saders. The passages that deal with Armenia are devoted 
almost entirely to narrating the sufferings of the Armenians 
under the successive invasions of pagans and Mahometans, and 
the efforts made to keep the early Christian faith—forming 
almost a national book of martyrs, and setting forth a tragic 
romance of perpetual struggle. These records cannot be called 
Armenian literature in a real sense, for in many cases they were 
not written by Armenians, but they picture in vivid fashion 
the trials suffered by Armenians at the hands of invading na- 
tions, and the sacrifices made to preserve a national existence. 
They picture, in pages bristling with horrible detail, the sac- 
rifices and sufferings of a desperate people, and in them we 
see Armenia as the prophet saw Judea, “ naked, lying by the 
wayside, trodden under foot by all nations.” These chronicles 
have an interest all their own, but they lack literary beauty, 
and not being, in themselves, Armenian literature, have not 
been included in the selections made as being purely repre- 
sentative of the race and land. 

The examples of Armenian proverbs and folk-lore included 
in this volume show, as is usual, the ethnological relation- 
ship that is so easily traced between the fables of Asop, of 
Bidpai, of Vartan, and of Loqman. It may be said with truth 
that in the folk-lore and fables of all nations can be traced 
kinship of imagination, with a variety of application that dif- 
fers with the customs and climate of the people. But the 


SPECIAL INTRODUCTION Vii 


Armenian is especially rich in a variety of elements. We 
meet enchantments, faculties, superstitions, and abstract ideas 
personified, which are supposed to attach miraculous mean- 
ings to the most ordinary events. Dreams, riddles, and the 
like—all are there. The one strange personification is the 
Dew. The Dew is a monster, half demon, half human; some- 
times harmless, sometimes malevolent; mortal, indeed, but 
reaching a good or, shall we say, an evil old age. The Dew 
figures in nearly all Armenian fairy-tales. 

The Armenian proverbs exhibit the persistent capacity of 
the Armenians during a time of Sturm und Drang to embody, 
in pithy, wise, and sometimes cynical form, the wisdom drawn 
from their own experience and from that of the ages. It is 
possible that the cynical vein discernible in some of these 
proverbs is a result of the intense and continued national 
trials. Take, for instance, this proverb, “If a brother were a 
good thing, God would have provided himself with one.” 
Can anything be more cynical? 

The poems are of later origin. Since the twelfth century, 
when literature burst the bonds imposed upon it by ecclesias- 
tical domination, the poetic spirit of the Armenians has found 
expression. It is rich in oriental passion and imagery, brill- 
iant in expression, and intensely musical. But through all 
the poems we are reminded of the melancholy strain that per- 
vaded the exiles of Jerusalem when “ by the waters of Baby- 
lon” they “sat down and wept.”’ The apostrophe to Araxes 
reminds us of the trials of Armenia, of her exiled sons, of her 
wasted land, and of the perpetual fast she ever keeps in mourn- 
ing for her children. 

The comedy of “The Ruined Family” and the pathetic 
story of “ The Vacant Yard” are also of the post-monastic 
era. In the comedy we gain an insight into the jealousy and 
the pride of life that pervaded then as now the middle walks 
of life. Its Ibsenesque quality is very striking. The per- 
sistent and human struggle of the mother to gain a high po- 
sition in life for her daughter through marriage, and the 
agonizing of the father to get together a suitable dower for his 
daughter, together with the worldly-wise comments and ad- 
vice of the old aunt, are so true to modern life that one realizes 
anew the sameness of human nature in all climes and ages. 


Viil SPECIAL INTRODUCTION 


“The Vacant Yard” gives us a charming picture of Ar- 
menian life. The people are depicted with an impartial pen, 
subject to the minor crosses and humors of fate, having their 
ups and downs just as we do to-day, but the intense local color 
that pervades the story holds one to the closing line. 

As a people the Armenians cannot boast of as vast a litera- 
ture as the Persians, their one-time conquerors, but that which 
remains of purely Armenian prose, folk-lore, and poetry tells 
us of a poetic race, gifted with imaginative fire, sternness of 
will, and persistency of adherence to old ideas, a race that in 
proportion to their limited production in letters can challenge 
comparison with any people. 


Lote tAraAck 


_ ee” 


CONTENTS 


PAGER 
PROVERBS AND (ROLE-LORE 60 coc scdoceae Race penatae Gutaen s 3 
ESA IGe VARGA Est XURPRLD iyo ated scale bbe bse 'olalailr cae ected old latejdiniauale nila 19 
ARMENIAN POEMS 
Wa AIDES if etic al a Fara trae w eie'erd' al ole said ole occiatel pina toe Cami ara ue nee 47 
SIETINE AI LRGRULO TM eater Vira Nou Acie clalnle duislagesainrameen eaiee os 48 
BlViv saya) Ot Ol inenrn trae ee! Lyk x, o:d oy aloo vie Serna here ates 48 
THC W OG OF TAKES. yiaiye yaa oie bow (cin bine os 8 late wlavely MEANS Leta aly 49 
EHSL ALMentAn MAGS a iaih ahs <5 85 vole oe ae ay melt amara mene 51 
ONG TO aid MOUSATIC 4 cities o45 04a 6d Sela wa side mek aarplam nla aie 52 
GROIN aa a awia get Malet ee ey iila awhile Wig ata al Gad ete net hs 53 
DAVID OF SASSUN........ Reh iaaens ale elena Gia end bid ta plala aie Wiel arer erat 57 


PAPE ES CLIENT Wes ole CURE TETNOd oles XW diva oleae winters pM S AOL 81 


PAS es 
ANA, i\ " 
» \ i Ach 
wt Wi AM Nn 
Hi ( : 


it Na ry m 
\ NANO OR 
HY ARAN 


i 
Oa 


» hhh NTA 
‘ wy vahl 
; iN ARN) 
LW WRE) MAY ea LON) 
WAY ARN TDN 


hand th i i ON) 
TA WAN EARL A i ‘ 


hei se 
AANY MS 
Wes iv A 


ev 


ys make 


HN 
NG) aa 


\ 
t 


1 
ND: 
Aye 


j 
MVOVE MILE ROLAND he A 
ALVA EN Ue 
‘ Nf 
Nyy } Liat Lt 


iy) ah Wry 
ay ys AUUICAD Rs tae Naty 
Sn NR MN 

ne TI ARG Ts as 


i 4 


ry ] 
Pee ah 
Ben vite yee a ( j 
Wee AR RENAN teva pe ERAS Va ay } ; uh ny oe Maly}, Ay) Li Byatt iy 
ASH PE NATO ed HAV bs ENS S RA RY EEA QUINN A AAU CN OAD 9g iy | ABER AONB A CAA} DOAN Ay 
HAC CAA CO re en a i a 
N i f pt ¥/ ) ( aaa Pet | | ves Ahh i 


\ ly} 
oe V hy vay EAT Wt 
ii WCAC 
Oe Wy 


7 AN itt i i 


vary tary 
MiNi 


gay ily 


j 
i 
Vy 


x 


RIN 
EMS, 
WA ihe weet 
Ni fi I, NIV 


a 


Ai 
A, 


ht 
Ni if Ni 
it Linh 


ILLUSTRATION 


PAGE FROM AN ARMENIAN MENOLOGY . ' : Frontispiece 
Fac-simile manuscript of the Sixteenth Century 


it 
Vile 
‘ 


fv) 
i 


Run a‘ 


ie 
lie his) 


f A) a 
A tiny 4s 


‘i 


PROVERBS AND FOLK-LORE 


[Translated by F. B. Collins, B.S.] 


vt 

: ‘ ‘i vine 
ORO EY ahi) 

ADDINARE HGR EN OORT 

A i a 


ere iy by hens? ANA} 
Ny A ay Hn 
‘N ; Bate 


a) 


ALY) iN) 


iP 
7 


W) P i f q ie 
NNN RGE 


i} 


(Mh 
i Ny i 


ii 

KENYAY (aN 

tye a TAL a 
NEN te 
AAG 


ie bt 
ipa) 
NEAL AMIR RSER YF PtPh Bi 
UO LAWL 
DRANK SRV A 
‘ 4 f y tT 
thee HENUI rn Auta Ot 


A i) Net i 5 At ; 
My nt} : t iat / My ie J se 1G 
DH RAMAN CE TYE OT OB Ha RH UNM Aa) 


t) > i Hea y op i oe i 
WR aaek ve imac AY Oya Wiest 


' 1 « 

Wy edu) 4) 

i wat a 108} 

MOND APCS 1 f) 
MA Gy Aen pg 
ey 

» Walict 

4 ” 


Saas i NM 
f 7 
ii AN ee 
AG RNR AN é WL i ARYL) 
SNM APRA No eeey om iN if Wr i ; Ayer hee va 
A ‘ if j Le y - We y 7 ; i i 
MLE OA th DAW CE AY ‘ an iy My Manin 
A ) T LLG Py) A¥ 
Ave fP fe! 
Winn 


ie a! 


ny 


PROVERBS AND FOLK-LORE 


KNOW many songs, but I cannot sing. 
When a man sees that the water does not follow him, 
he follows the water. 

When a tree falls there is plenty of kindling wood. 

He who falls into the water need have no fear of rain. 

A good swimmer finds death in the water. 

Strong vinegar bursts the cask. 

Dogs quarrel among themselves, but against the wolf they 
are united. 

God understands the dumb. 

Only he who can read is a man. 

The chick shows itself in the egg, the child in the cradle. 

What a man acquires in his youth serves as a crutch in his 
old age. 

One wit is good; two wits are better. 

Begin with small things, that you may achieve great. 

A devil with experience is:better than an angel without. 

What the great say, the humble hear. 

He who steals an egg will steal a horse also. 

Turn the spit, so that neither meat nor roasting-iron shall 
burn. 

One can spoil the good name of a thousand. 

What manner of things thou speakest of, such shalt thou 
also hear. 

The grandfather ate unripe grapes, and the grandson’s teeth 
were set on edge. 

One bad deed begets another. 

Go home when the table is set, and to church when it is 
almost over. 

A devil at home, a parson abroad. 

God created men and women: who, then, created monks? 

Poor and proud. 

In dreams the hungry see bread and the thirsty water. 

3 


4 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


Ere the fat become lean, the lean are already dead. 
. Wish for a cow for your neighbor, that God may give you 
two. 

What is play to the cat is death to the mouse. 

Unless the child cries, the mother will not suckle it. 

A fish in the water is worth nothing. 

Gold is small but of great worth. 

At home the dog is very brave. 

Observe the mother ere you take the daughter. 

If you lose half and then leave off, something is gained. 

The good mourn for what was taken away, the wolf for what 
was left behind. 

Only a bearded man can laugh at a beardless face. 

He descends from a horse and seats himself on an ass. 

No other. day can equal the one that is past. 

When a man grows rich, he thinks his walls are awry. 

Make friends with a dog, but keep a stick in your hand. 

One should not feel hurt at the kick of an ass. 

The blind have no higher wish than to have two eyes. 

The thief wants only a dark night. 

A thief robbed another thief, and God marvelled at it in 
heaven. 

He who has money has no sense; and he who has sense, 
no money. 

He who begs is shameless, but still more shameless is he 
who lends not to him. 

Better lose one’s eyes than one’s calling. 

What the wind brings it will take away again. 

A bad dog neither eats himself nor gives to others. 

Running is also an art. 

Only in the bath can one tell black from white. 

Water is sure to find its way. 

What does the blind care if candles are dear? 

Speak little and you will hear much. 

No one is sure that his light will burn till morning. 

He who speaks the truth must have one foot in the stirrup. 

The more you stone a dog the more he barks. 

One blossom does not make a spring. 

One hand cannot clap alone. 

Strike the iron while it is hot. 


PROVERBS AND FOLK-LORE 5 


Take up a stick, and the thieving dog understands. 

Corruption illumines dark paths. 

When they laid down the law to the wolf, he said, “ Be quiet, 
or the sheep will run away.” 

One hears Ali is dead; but one knows not which one. 

The scornful soon grow old. 

Who shall work? I and thou. Who shall eat? I and 
thou. 

Stay in the place where there is bread. 

If bread tastes good, it is all one to me whether a Jew or a 
Turk bakes it. 

One loves the rose, another the lilac. 

Before Susan had done prinking, church was over. 

The simpleton went to the wedding and said, “ Indeed, it 
is much better here than it is at home.”’ 

He sleeps for himself and dreams for others. 

The flower falls under the bush. 

Not everything round is an apple. 

What does an ass know about almonds? 

A king must be worthy of a crown. 

When you are going in consider first how you are coming 
out. 

What thou canst do to-day leave not until to-morrow. 

The rose of winter-time is fire. 

The end of strife is repentance. 

From the same flower the serpent draws poison and the 
bees honey. 

My heart is no table-cover to be spread over everything. 

As long as the wagon is not upset the way is not mended. 

The water that drowns me is for me an ocean. 

The Armenian has his understanding in his head, the 
Georgian in his eyes. 

The ass knows seven ways of swimming, but when he sees 
the water he forgets them all. 

The wound of a dagger heals, but that of the tongue, never. 

A good ox is known in the yoke, a good woman at the 
cradle of her child. 

Love ever so well, there is also hate; hate ever so much, 
there is always love. 

A shrewd enemy is better than a stupid friend. 


6 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


To rise early is not everything; happy are they who have 
the help of God. 

A dress that is not worn wears itself out. 

I came from the ocean and was drowned in a spoonful of 
water. 

Because the cat could get no meat, he said, “ To-day is 
Friday.” 

The house that a woman builds God will not destroy; but 
a woman is likely to destroy the house that God has built. 

The dowry a woman brings into the house is a bell. When- 
ever you come near, the clapper strikes in your face. 

By asking, one finds the way to Jerusalem. 

Which of the five fingers can you cut off without hurting 
yourself? 

The father’s kingdom is the son’s mite. 

Far from the eye, far from the heart. 

If a brother was really good for anything, God would have 
one. 

When God gives, He gives with both hands. 

A daughter is a treasure which belongs to another. 

The world is a pair of stairs: some go up and others go down. 

The poor understand the troubles of the poor. 

The childless have one trouble, but those who have children 
have a thousand. 

God turns away his face from a shameless man. 

The eyes would not disagree even if the nose were not be- 
tween them. 

Until you see trouble you will never know joy. 

You never know a man until you have eaten a barrel of salt 
with him. 

Every man’s own trouble is as large as a camel. 

The goat prefers one goat to a whole herd of sheep. 

The fox has destroyed the world, and the wolf has lost his 
calling. 

The fool throws himself into the stream, and forty wise men 
cannot pull him out. 

A near neighbor is better than a distant kinsman. 

When I have honey, the flies come even from Bagdad. 

A guest comes from God. 

The guest is the ass of the inn-keeper. 

When everything is cheap the customer has no conscience. 


PROVERBS AND FOLK-LORE 7 


THE SHEEP-BROTHER 


Once there was a widow and she had a daughter. The 
widow married a widower who had by his first wife two chil- 
dren, a boy and a girl. The wife was always coaxing her 
husband: ‘ Take the children, do, and lead them up into the 
mountains.” Her husband could not refuse her, and, lo! one 
day he put some bread in his basket, took the children, and 
set off for the mountain. 

They went on and on and came to a strange place. Then 
the father said to the children, ‘ Rest here a little while,” and 
the children sat down to rest. The father turned his face away 
and wept bitterly, very bitterly. Then he turned again to the 
children and said, “ Eat something,’ and they ate. Then the 
boy said, “ Father, dear, I want a drink.” The father took 
his staff, stuck it into the ground, threw his coat over it, and 
said, “ Come here, my son, sit in the shadow of my coat, and 
I will get you some water.” The brother and sister stayed 
and the father went away and forsook his children. Whether 
they waited a long time or a short time before they saw that 
their father was not coming back is not known. They wan- 
dered here and there looking for him, but saw no human being 
anywhere. 

At last they came back to the same spot, and, beginning to 
weep, they said: 

“ Alas! Alas! See, here is father’s staff, and here is his coat, 
and he comes not, and he comes not.” 

Whether the brother and sister sat there a lonz time or a 
short time is not known. They rose after a while, and one 
took the staff and the other the coat, and they went away 
without knowing whither. They went on and on and on, until 
they saw tracks of horses’ hoofs filled with rain-water. 

“T am going to drink, sister,’ said the brother. 

“Do not drink, little brother, or you will become a colt,” 
said the sister. 

They passed on till they saw tracks of oxen’s hoofs. 

“© sister dear, how thirsty I am!” 

“Do not drink, little brother, or you will be a calf,” the 
sister said to him. 


8 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


They went on till they saw the tracks of buffalo hoofs. 

“© sister dear, how thirsty I am!” 

“ Drink not, little brother, or you will be a buffalo calf.” 

They passed on and saw the tracks of bears’ paws. 

“Oh, I am so thirsty, sister dear.” 

“ Drink not, little brother, or you will become a little bear.” 

They went on and saw the tracks of swine’s trotters. 

“© sister dear, I am going to drink.” 

“ Drink not, little brother, or you will become a little pig.” 

They went on and on till they saw the tracks of the pads of 
wolves. 

“© sister dear, how thirsty I am!” 

“Do not drink, little brother, or you will become a little 
wolf.” 

They walked on and on till they saw the tracks of sheep’s 
trotters. 

“O sister dear, I am almost dying with thirst.” 

“© little brother, you grieve me so! You will, indeed, be 
a sheep if you drink.” 

He could stand it no longer. He drank and turned into a 
sheep. He began to bleat and ran after his sister. Long they 
wandered, and at last came home. 

Then the stepmother began to scheme against them. She 
edged up to her husband and said: “ Kill your sheep. I 
want to eat him.” | 

The sister got her sheep-brother away in the nick of time 
and drove him back into the mountains. Every day she drove 
him to the meadows and she spun linen. Once her distaff 
fell from her hand and rolled into a cavern. The sheep-brother 
stayed behind grazing while she went to get the distaff. 

She stepped into the cavern and saw lying in a corner a 
Dew, one thousand years old. She suddenly spied the girl 
and said: “ Neither the feathered birds nor the crawling 
serpent can make their way in here; how then hast thou, 
maiden, dared to enter?” 

The girl spoke up in her fright. “ For love of you I came 
here, dear grandmother.” 

The old Dew mother bade the girl come near and asked 
her this and that. The maiden pleased her very much. “I 
will go and bring you a fish,” she said, “ you are certainly 


e 


PROVERBS AND FOLK-LORE 9 


hungry.” But the fishes were snakes and dragons. The girl 
was sorely frightened and began to cry with terror. The old 
Dew said, “ Maiden, why do you weep?” She answered, “I 
have just thought of my mother, and for her sake I weep.” 
Then she told the old mother everything that had happened 
to her. “If that is so,” said the Dew, “ sit down here and I 
will lay my head on your knee and go to sleep.” 

She made up the fire, stuck the poker into the stove, and 
said: 

“When the devil flies by do not waken me. If the rainbow- 
colored one passes near, take the glowing poker from the 
stove and lay it on my foot.” 

The maiden’s heart crept into her heels from fright. What 
was she to do? She sat down, the Dew laid her head on her 
knees and slept. Soon she saw a horrible black monster fly- 
ing by. The maiden was silent. After a while there came 
flying by a rainbow-colored creature. She seized the glowing 
poker and threw it on the old Dew’s foot. The old mother 
awoke and said, “ Phew, how the fleas bite.” She rose and 
lifted up the maiden. The girl’s hair and clothing were turned 
to gold from the splendor of the rainbow colors. She kissed 
the old Dew’s hand and begged that she might go. She went 
away, and taking her sheep-brother with her started for home. 
The stepmother was not there, and the maiden secretly dug 
a hole, buried her golden dress, and sat down and put on an 
old one. 

The stepmother came home and saw that the maiden had 
golden hair. 

“What have you done to your hair to make it like gold?” 
she asked. The maiden told her all, how and when. The 
next day the stepmother sent her own daughter to the same 
mountain. The stepmother’s daughter purposely let her dis- 
taff fall and it rolled into the hole. She went in to get it, but 
the old Dew mother turned her into a scarecrow and sent her 
home. 

About that time there was a wedding in the royal castle; 
the King was giving one of his sons in marriage, and the people 
came from all directions to look on and enjoy themselves. 

The stepmother threw on a kerchief and smartened up the 
head of her daughter and took her to see the wedding. The 


10 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


girl with the golden hair did not stay at home, but, putting on 
her golden dress so that she became from head to foot a gleam- 
ing houri, she went after them. 

But on the way home, she ran so fast to get there before 
her stepmother, that she dropped one of her golden shoes in 
the fountain. When they led the horses of the King’s second 
son to drink, the horses caught sight of the golden shoe in 
the water and drew back and would not drink. The King 
caused the wise men to be called, and asked them to make 
known the reason why the horses would not drink, and they 
found only the golden shoe. The King sent out his herald 
to tell the people that he would marry his son to whomsoever 
this shoe fitted. 

He sent people throughout the whole city to try on the shoe, 
and they came to the house where the sheep-brother was. 
The stepmother pushed the maiden with the golden locks into 
the stove, and hid her, and showed only her own daughter. 

A cock came up to the threshold and crowed three times, 
“ Cock-a-doodle doo! The fairest of the fair is in the stove.” 
The King’s people brushed the stepmother aside and led the 
maiden with golden hair from the stove, tried on the shoe, 
which fitted as though moulded to the foot. 

“ Now stand up,” said they, “ and you shall be a royal bride.” 

The maiden put on her golden dress, drove her sheep- 
brother before her, and went to the castle. She was married 
to the King’s son, and seven days and seven nights they 
feasted. 

Again the stepmother took her daughter and went to the 
castle to visit her stepdaughter, who in spite of all treated her 
as her mother and invited her into the castle garden. From 
the garden they went to the seashore and sat down to rest. 
The stepmother said, “ Let us bathe in the sea.” While they 
were bathing she pushed the wife of the King’s son far out 
into the water, and a great fish came swimming by and swal- 
lowed her. 

Meanwhile the stepmother put the golden dress on her own 
daughter and led her to the royal castle and placed her in the 
seat where the young wife always sat, covering her face and 
her head so that no one would know her. 

The young wife sat in the fish and heard the voice of the 


PROVERBS AND FOLK-LORE II 


bell-ringer. She called to him and pleaded: “ Bell-ringer, O 
bell-ringer, thou hast called the people to church; cross thyself 
seven times, and I entreat thee, in the name of heaven, go to 
the prince and say that they must not slaughter my sheep- 
brother.” 

Once, twice the bell-ringer heard this voice and told the 
King’s son about it. 

The King’s son took the bell-ringer with him and went at 
night to the seashore. The same voice spoke the same words. 
He knew that it was his dear wife that spoke, and drew his 
sword and ripped open the fish and helped his loved one out. 

They went home, and the prince had the stepmother brought 
to him, and said to her: ‘ Mother-in-law, tell me what kind 
of a present you would like: a horse fed with barley or a knife 
with a black handle?” 

The stepmother answered: “Let the knife with a black 
handle pierce the breast of thine enemy; but give me the horse 
fed with barley.” 

The King’s son commanded them to tie the stepmother and 
her daughter to the tail of a horse, and to hunt them over 
mountain and rock till nothing was left of them but their ears 
and a tuft of hair. 

After that the King’s son lived happily with his wife and her 
sheep-brother. The others were punished and she rejoiced. 

And three apples fell down from heaven. 


THE YOUTH WHO WOULD NOT TELL HIS DREAM 


There lived once upon a time a man and wife who had a son. 
The son arose from his sleep one morning and said to his 
mother: ‘‘ Mother dear, I had a dream, but what it was I 
will not tell you.” 

The mother said, “ Why will you not tell me?” 

“T will not, and that settles it,” answered the youth, and 
his mother seized him and cudgelled him well. 

Then he went to his father and said to him: “ Father dear, 
I had a dream, but what it was I would not tell mother, nor 
will I tell you,” and his father also gave him a good flogging. 
He began to sulk and ran away from home. He walked and 


12 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


walked the whole day long and, meeting a traveller, said after 
greeting him: ‘I had a dream, but what it was I would tell 
neither father nor mother and I will not tell you.” Then he 
went on his way till finally he came to the Emir’s house and 
said to the Emir: “‘ Emir, | had a dream, but what it was I 
would tell neither father nor mother, nor yet the traveller, and 
I will not tell you.” 

The Emir had him seized and thrown into the garret, where 
he began to cut through the floor with a knife he managed to 
get from some one of the Emir’s people. He cut and cut until 
he made an opening over the chamber of the Emir’s daughter, 
who had just filled a plate with food and gone away. The 
youth jumped down, emptied the plate, ate what he wanted, 
and crept back into the garret. The second, third, and fourth 
days he did this also, and the Emir’s daughter could not think 
who had taken away her meal. The next day she hid herself 
under the table to watch and find out. Seeing the youth jump 
down and begin to eat from her plate, she rushed out and said 
to him, ‘ Who are youP”’ 

“T had a dream, but what it was I would tell neither father 
nor mother, nor the traveller, nor yet the Emir. The Emir 
shut me up in the garret. Now everything depends on you; 
do with me what you will.” 

The youth looked at the maiden, and they loved each other 
and saw each other every day. 

The King of the West came to the King of the East to 
court the daughter of the King of the East for his son. He 
sent an iron bar with both ends shaped alike and asked: ‘ Which 
is the top and which is the bottom? If you can guess that, 
good! If not, I will carry your daughter away with me.” 

The King asked everybody, but nobody could tell. The 
King’s daughter told her lover about it and he said: “Go 
tell your father the Emir to throw the bar into a brook. The 
heavy end will sink. Make a hole in that end and send the 
bar back to the King of the West.” And it happened that he 
was right, and the messengers returned to their King. 

The King of the West sent three horses of the same size 
and color and asked: ‘‘ Which is the one-year-old, which is 
the two-year-old, and which the mare? If you can guess that, 
good. If not, then I will carry off your daughter.” 


PROVERBS AND FOLK-LORE 13 


The King of the East collected all the clever people, but no 
one could guess. He was helpless and knew not what to do. 
Then his daughter went to her lover and said, “ They are go- 
ing to take me away,” and she told him when and how. 

The youth said: “ Goand say to your father, ‘ Dip a bundle 
of hay in water, strew it with salt, and put it near the horses’ 
stall. In the morning the mare will come first, the two-year- 
old second, the one-year-old last.” 

They did this and sent the King of the West his answer. 

He waited a little and sent a steel spear and a steel shield, 
and said: ‘If you pierce the shield with the spear, I will give 
my daughter to your son. If not, send your daughter to my 
son.”’ 

Many people tried, and among them the King himself, but 
they could find no way of piercing the shield. The King’s 
daughter told him of her beloved prisoner, and the King sent 
for him. The youth thrust the spear into the ground, and, 
striking the shield against it, pierced it through. 

As the King had no son, he sent the youth in place of a son 
to the King of the West to demand his daughter, according 
to agreement. 

He went on and on—how long it is not known—and saw 
someone with his ear to the ground listening. 

“Who are you?” the youth asked. 

“T am he who hears everything that is said in the whole 
world.” 

“ This is a brave fellow,” said the youth. “ He knows every- 
thing that is said in the world.” 

“Tam no brave fellow. He who has pierced a steel shield 
with a steel spear is a brave fellow,” was the answer. 

“Tam he,” caid the youth. “ Let us be brothers.” 

They journeyed on together and saw a man with a millstone 
on each foot, and one leg stepped toward Chisan and the other 
toward Stambul. 

“That seems to me a brave fellow! One leg steps toward 
Chisan and the other toward Stambul.” 

“Tam no brave fellow. He who has pierced a steel shield 
with a steel spear is a brave fellow,” said the man with the 
millstones. 

“Tam he. Let us be brothers.” 


14 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


They were three and they journeyed on together. 

They went on and on and saw a mill with seven millstones 
grinding corn. And one man ate all and was not satisfied, but 
grumbled and said, “ O little father, I die of hunger.” 

“That is a brave fellow,’ said the youth. “Seven mill- 
stones grind for him and yet he has not enough, but cries, “I die 
of hunger.’ ” 

““T am no brave fellow. He who pierced a steel shield with 
a steel spear is a brave fellow,” said the hungry man. 

“Tam he. Let us be brothers,” said the youth and the 
four journeyed on together. They went on and on and saw 
a man who had loaded the whole world on his back and even 
wished to lift it up. 

“That is a brave fellow. He has loaded himself with the 
whole world and wishes to lift it up,” said the youth. 

“T am no brave fellow. He who has pierced a steel shield 
with a steel spear is a brave fellow,” said the burdened man. 

“Tam he. Let us be brothers.” 

The five journeyed on together. They went on and on and 
saw a man lying in a brook and he sipped up all its waters and 
yet cried, “ O little father, I am parched with thirst.” 

“That is a brave fellow. He drinks up the whole brook 
and still says he is thirsty,” said the youth. 

“Tam no brave fellow. He who has pierced a steel shield 
with a steel spear is a brave fellow,” said the thirsty man. 

“Tam he. Let us be brothers.” 

The six journeyed on together. They went on and on and 
saw a shepherd who was playing the pipes, and mountains and 
valleys, fields and forests, men and animals, danced to the 
music. 

“That seems to me to be a brave fellow. He makes 
mountains and valleys dance,” said the youth. 

“Tam no brave fellow. He who has pierced a steel shield 
with a steel spear is a brave fellow,” said the musical man. 

“Tam he. Let us be brothers,” said the youth. 

The seven journeyed on together. 

“ Brother who hast pierced a steel shield with a steel spear, 
whither is God leading us?” 


“We are going to get the daughter of the King of the West,” 
said the youth. 


PROVERBS AND FOLK-LORE 15 


“ Only you can marry her,” said they all. 

They went on till they came to the King’s castle, but when 
they asked for the daughter the King would not let her go, 
but called his people together and said: ‘“ They have come 
after the bride. They are not very hungry, perhaps they will 
eat only a bite or two. Let one-and-twenty ovens be filled 
with bread and make one-and-twenty kettles of soup. If they 
eat all this I will give them my daughter; otherwise, I will 
not.”’ 

The seven brothers were in a distant room. He who lis- 
tened with his ear to the ground heard what the King com- 
manded, and said: 

“Brother who hast pierced a steel shield with a steel spear, 
do you understand what the King said?” 

“ Rascal! how can I know what he says when I am not in 
the same room with him? What did he say?” 

“He has commanded them to bake bread in one-and- 
twenty ovens and to make one-and-twenty kettles of soup. If 
we eat it all, we can take his daughter ; otherwise, not.” 

The brother who devoured all the meal that seven millstones 
ground said: “ Fear not, I will eat everything that comes to 
hand, and then cry, “ Little father, I die of hunger.’ ”’ 

When the King saw the hungry man eat he screamed: 
“May he perish! I shall certainly meet defeat at his hands.” 

Again he called his people to him and said, “‘ Kindle a great 
fire, strew it with ashes and cover it with blankets. When 
they come in in the evening they will be consumed, all seven of 
them.” 

The brother with the sharp ears said: “ Brother who hast 
pierced a steel shield with a steel spear, do you understand 
what the King said?” 

“ No; how can I know what he said? ” 

“ He said, ‘ Kindle a fire, strew it with ashes, and cover it 
with blankets, and when they come in in the evening they will 
be consumed, all seven of them.’ ” 

Then said the brother who drank up the brook: “JI will 
drink all I can and go in before you. I will spit it all out and 
turn the whole house into a sea.” 

In the evening they begged the King to allow them to rest 
in the room set apart for them. The water-drinker filled the 
whole room with water, and they went into another. 


36 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


The King lost his wits and knew not what to do. He called 
his people together, and they said in one voice, “ Let what 
will happen, we will not let our princess go!” 

The man with the sharp ears heard them, and said, “ Brother 
who hast pierced a steel shield with a steel spear, do you un- 
derstand what the King said? ”’ 

“ How should I know what he said? ”’ 

“He said, “ Let what will happen, I will not let my daugh- 
ter go.’” 

The brother who had loaded himself with the whole world 
said: “ Wait, I will take his castle and all his land on my back 
and carry it away.” 

He took the castle on his back and started off. The shep- 
herd played on his pipes, and mountains and valleys danced 
to the music. He who had fastened millstones to his feet led 
the march, and they all went joyously forward, making a great 
noise. 

The King began to weep, and begged them to leave him 
his castle. “ Take my daughter with you. You have earned 
hen; 

They put the castle back in its place, the shepherd stopped 
playing, and mountain and valley stood still. They took 
the King’s daughter and departed, and each hero returned to 
his dwelling-place, and he who had pierced the steel shield with 
the steel spear took the maiden and came again to the King 
of the East. And the King of the East gave him his own 
daughter, whom the youth had long loved, for his wife. So 
he had two wives—one was the daughter of the King of the 
East, the other the daughter of the King of the West. 

At night, when they lay down to sleep, he said: ‘“‘ Now, I 
have one stin on one side and another sun on the other side, 
and a bright star plays on my breast.” 

In the morning he sent for his parents and called also the 
King to him, and said, “ Now, I will tell my dream.” “ What 
was it, then?” they all said. He answered: “I saw in my 
dream one sun on one side of me and another sun on the other, 
and a bright star played on my breast.” 

“Had you such a dream? ” they asked. 

“TI swear I had such a dream.” 

And three apples fell from heaven: one for the story-teller, 
one for him who made him tell it, and one for the hearer. 


THE, VACANT (YARD 


[Translated by F. B. Collins, B.S.] 


ROMY Mh 
NA MLR Croke 

cA NN in ASH HY 

ys ' mi ahh WGN ha 3 a 

VA wn ih y y \ 

‘ NA aed Nha shits 7 

hs Nae CORT IUREN Rh CEH IME 

i BN NR Ware tek 
DAMMIT OUR Wht, OLS : I 


ity 
\ iy 
nie k 


i) yw 
A ‘ 


Ia 
wi Bim iS) ‘ 
VAs CI a 

WN ae f 


MRA 
ALE 


tay 


Mae 
af 
ni 


H iy yt Mf i fi 4 ‘ i 
Ts 
f i WN ie te 


i LAAT ay 
ii Pn 

DM yk 

f) iy i 

es 


af, Dy) 
Se 


Medi 

NAY! AES 
Rae ee itintyy 
VAL te vA 


THE VACANT YARD 


EVERAL days ago I wished to visit an acquaintance, 
but it chanced he was not at home. I came therefore 
through the gate again out into the street, and stood 

looking to right and left and considering where I could go. 
In front of me lay a vacant yard, whch was, I thought, 
not wholly like other vacant yards. On it was neither house 
nor barn nor stable: true, none of these was there, but it 
was very evident that this yard could not have been deserted 
long by its tenants. The house must, also, in my opinion, 
have been torn down, for of traces of fire, as, for example, 
charred beams, damaged stoves, and rubbish heaps, there was 
no sign. 

In a word, it could be plainly perceived that the house which 
once stood there had been pulled down, and its beams and 
timbers carried away. In the middle of the premises, near 
the line hedge, stood several high trees, acacias, fig, and plum- 
trees; scattered among them were gooseberry bushes, rose- 
trees, and blackthorns, while near the street, just in the place 
where the window of the house was probably set, stood a high, 
green fig-tree. 

I have seen many vacant lots, yet never before have I given 
a passing thought as to whom any one of them belonged, or 
who might have lived there, or indeed where its future possessor 
might be. But in a peculiar way the sight of this yard called 
up questions of this sort; and as I looked at it many different 
thoughts came into my mind. Perhaps, I thought to myself, 
a childless fellow, who spoiled old age with sighs and com- 
plaints, and as his life waned the walls mouldered. Finally, 
the house was without a master; the doors and windows stood 
open, and when the dark winter nights came on, the neigh- 
bors fell upon it and stripped off its boards, one after another. 
Yes, various thoughts came into my head. How hard it is to 
build a house, and how easy to tear it down! 

Ig 


20 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


While I stood there lost in thought, an old woman, lean- 
ing on a staff, passed me. I did not immediately recognize 
her, but at a second glance I saw it was Hripsime. Nurse 
Hripsime was a woman of five-and-seventy, yet, from her 
steady gait, her lively speech, and her fiery eyes, she ap- 
peared to be scarcely fifty. She was vigorous and hearty, ex- 
pressed her opinions like a man, and was abrupt in her speech. 
Had she not worn women’s garments one could easily have 
taken her for a man. Indeed, in conversation she held her 
own with ten men. 

Once, I wot not for what reason, she was summoned to 
court. She went thither, placed herself before the judge, 
and spoke so bravely that everyone gaped and stared at her 
as at a prodigy. Another time thieves tried to get into her 
house at night, knowing that she was alone like an owl in the 
house. The thieves began to pry open the door with a crow- 
bar, and when Nurse Hripsime heard it she sprang nimbly 
out of bed, seized her stick from its corner, and began to 
shout: “Ho, there! Simon, Gabriel, Matthew, Stephan, 
Aswadur, get up quickly. Get your axes and sticks. Thieves 
are here; collar the rascals; bind them, skin them, strike them 
déad!”’ The thieves probably did not know with whom they 
had to deal, and, when at the outcry of the old woman they 
conceived that a half-dozen stout-handed fellows might be in 
the house, they took themselves off. Just such a cunning, 
fearless woman was Aunt Hripsime. 

“Good-morning, nurse,” said I. 

“ God greet thee,” she replied. 

“Where have you been?”’ 

“I have been with the sick,” she rejoined. 

Oh, yes! I had wholly forgotten to say that Nurse Hrip- 
sime, though she could neither read nor write, was a skilful 
physician. Shelaid the sick person on the grass, adminis- 
tered a sherbet, cured hemorrhoids and epilepsy; and espe- 
cially with sick women was she successful. Yes, to her 
skill I myself can bear witness. About four years ago my 
child was taken ill in the dog-days, and for three years my 
wife had had a fever, so that she was very feeble. The daugh- 
ter of Arutin, the gold-worker, and the wife of Saak, the tile- 
maker, said to me: “ There is an excellent physician called 


THE VACANT YARD 21 


Hripsime. Send for her, and you will not regret it.” To speak 
candidly, | have never found much brains in our doctor. He 
turns round on his heels and scribbles out a great many pre- 
scriptions, but his skill is not worth a toadstool. 

I sent for Hripsime, and, sure enough, not three days had 
passed before my wife’s fever had ceased and my children’s 
pain was allayed. For three years, thank God, no sickness has 
visited my house. Whether it can be laid to her skill and the 
lightness of her hand or to the medicine I know not. I know 
well, however, that Nurse Hripsime is my family physician. 
And what do I pay her? Five rubles a year, no more and no 
less. When she comes to us it is a holiday for my children, 
so sweetly does she speak to them and so well does she know 
how to win their hearts. Indeed, if I were a sultan, she should 
be my vezir. 

“How does the city stand in regard to sickness?” I asked 
her. 

“ Of that one would rather not speak,” answered Hripsime. 
“Ten more such years and our whole city will become a hos- 
pital. Heaven knows what kind of diseases they are! More- 
over, they are of a very peculiar kind, and often the people 
die very suddenly. The bells fly in pieces almost from so 
much tolling, the grave-diggers’ shovels are blunt, and from 
the great demand for coffins the price of wood is risen. What 
will become of us, I know not.” 

“Ts not, then, the cause of these diseases known to you?” 

“Oh, that is clear enough,” answered Hripsime. “It is a 
punishment for our sins. What good deeds have we done 
that we should expect God’s mercy? Thieves, counterfeiters, 
all these you find among us. They snatch the last shirt from 
the poor man’s back, purloin trust moneys, church money: 
in a word, there is no shameless deed we will not undertake 
for profit. We need not wonder if God punishes us for it. 
Yes, God acts justly, praised be his holy name! Indeed, it 
would be marvellous if God let us go unpunished.” 

Hripsime was not a little excited, and that was just what 
I wished.. When she once began she could no longer hold in: 
her words gushed forth as from a spring, and the more she 
spoke the smoother her speech. 

“Do you know?” I began again, “that I have been 


22 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


standing a long while before this deserted yard, and cannot 
recall whose house stood here, why they have pulled it down, - 
and what has become of its inhabitants? You are an aged 
woman, and have peeped into every corner of our city: you 
must have something to tell about it. If you have nothing 
important on hand, be kind enough to tell me what you know 
of the former residents of the vanished house.” 

Nurse Hripsime turned her gaze to the vacant yard, and, 
shaking her head, said: 

‘“‘ My dear son, the history of that house is as long as one of 
our fairy-tales. One must tell for seven days and seven nights 
in order to reach the end. 

“This yard was not always so desolate as you see it now,” 
she went on. “Once there stood here a house, not very 
large, but pretty and attractive, and made of wood. The 
wooden houses of former days pleased me much better than 
the present stone houses, which look like cheese mats outside 
and are prisons within. An old proverb says, ‘In stone or 
brick houses life goes on sadly.’ 

“Here, on this spot, next to the fig-tree,’ she continued, 
“stood formerly a house with a five-windowed front, green 
blinds, and a red roof. Farther back there by the acacias 
stood the stable, and between the house and the stable, the 
kitchen and the hen-house. Here to the right of the gate a 
spring.” With these words Nurse Hripsime took a step for- 
ward, looked about, and said: “ What is this? the spring 
gone, too! I recollect as if to-day that there was a spring of 
sweet water on the very spot where I am standing. What can 
have happened to it! J know that everything can be lost— 
but a spring, how can that be lost?’’ Hripsime stooped and 
began to scratch about with her stick. “ Look here,” she said 
suddenly, ‘bad boys have filled up the beautiful spring with 
earth and stones. Plague take it! Well, if one’s head is cut 
off, he weeps not for his beard. For the spring I care not, but 
for poor Sarkis and his family I am very sorry.” 

“Are you certain that the house of Sarkis, the grocer, stood 
here? I had wholly forgotten it. Now tell me, I pray, what 
has become of him? Does he still live, or is he dead? Where 
is his family? I remember now that he had a pretty daughter 
and also a son.” 


THE VACANT YARD 23 


Nurse Hripsime gave no heed to my questions, but stood 
silently, poking about with her stick near the choked-up 
spring. 

The picture of Grocer Sarkis, as we called him, took form 
vividly in my memory, and with it awoke many experiences 
of my childhood. I remembered that when I was a child a 
dear old lady often visited us, who was continually telling us 
about Grocer Sarkis, and used to hold up his children as models. 
In summer, when the early fruit was ripe, she used to visit his 
house, gather fruit in his garden, and would always come to us 
with full pockets, bringing us egg-plums, saffron apples, fig- 
pears, and many other fruits. From that time we knew Sarkis, 
and when my mother wanted any little thing for the house I got 
it for her at his store. I loved him well, this Sarkis; he was 
a quiet, mild man, around whose mouth a smile hovered. 
“What do you want, my child?” he always asked when I en- 
tered his store. 

“My mother sends you greeting,” I would answer. “ She 
wants this or that.” 

“Well, well, my child, you shall have it,” he usually an- 
swered, and always gave me a stick of sugar candy, with the 
words, “ That is for you; it is good for the cough.” It never 
happened that I went out of the store without receiving some- 
thing from him. In winter-time he treated me to sugar candy, 
and in summer-time he always had in his store great baskets 
full of apricots, plums, pears, and apples, or whatever was 
in season in his garden. His garden at that time—some thirty 
or thirty-five years ago—was very famous. One time my 
mother sent me to Sarkis’s store to procure, as I remember, 
saffron for the pillau. Sarkis gave me what I desired, and 
then noticing, probably, how longingly I looked toward the 
fruit-baskets, he said: 

“Now, you shall go and have a good time in my garden, 
Do you know where my house is?”’ 

“Yes, I know. Not far from the Church of Our Lady.” 

“ Right, my son, you have found it. It has green blinds, 
and a fig-tree stands in front of it. Now take this basket and 
carry it to Auntie, and say that I sent word that she was to let 
you go into the garden with my son Toros. There you two 
may eat what you will.” 


24 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


He handed me a neat-looking basket. I peeped into it 
and saw a sheep’s liver. I was as disgusted with this as 
though it were a dead dog, for at that time liver-eaters were 
abhorred not less than thieves and counterfeiters; they with 
their whole family were held in derision, and people generally 
refused to associate with them. In a moment I forgot en- 
tirely what a good man Sarkis was; I forgot his fruit-garden 
and his pretty daughter, of whom the good old lady had told 
me so many beautiful things. The liver had spoiled every- 
thing in a trice. Sarkis noticed this, and asked me smiling: 

“What is the matter?” 

“ Have you a dog in your yard?” I asked, without heeding 
his words. 

“ No,” he said. 

“For whom, then, is the liver? ” 

“ For none other than ourselves. We will eat it.” 

I looked at Sarkis to see if he were jesting with me, but no 
sign of jesting was to be seen in his face. 

“You will really eat the liver yourselves?” I asked. 

“What astonishes you, my boy? Is not liver to be eaten, 
then?” 

“ Dogs eat liver,” I said, deeply wounded, and turned away, 
for Sarkis appeared to me at that moment like a ghoul. 

Just then there came into the store a pretty, pleasing boy. 
“Mamma sent me to get what you have bought at the Bazaar, 
and the hearth-fire has been lit a long time.’”’ I concluded that 
this was Sarkis’s son, Toros. I perceived immediately from 
his face that he was a good boy, and I was very much taken 
with him. 

“ Here, little son, take that,” Sarkis said, and handed him 
the basket which I had set down. 

Toros peeped in, and when he spied the liver he said, “ We 
will have a pie for dinner.” Then he put on his cap and turned 
to go. 

“Toros,” called his father to him, “take Melkon with you 
to our house and play with him as a brother.” 

I was exceedingly pleased with the invitation, and went 
out with Toros. When we arrived at Sarkis’s house and en- 
tered the garden it seemed as though I were in an entirely new 
world. The yard was very pretty, no disorder was to be seen 


THE VACANT YARD 25 


anywhere. Here and there pretty chickens, geese, and turkeys 
ran about with their chicks. On the roof sat doves of the best 
kinds. The yard was shaded in places by pretty green trees, 
the house had a pretty balcony, and under the eaves stood 
green-painted tubs for catching rain-water. In the windows 
different flowers were growing, and from the balcony hung 
cages of goldfinches, nightingales, and canary birds; in a word, 
everything I saw was pretty, homelike, and pleasant. 

In the kitchen cooking was going on, for thick smoke rose 
from the chimney. At the kitchen-door stood Sarkis’s wife, 
a healthy, red-cheeked, and vigorous woman, apparently 
about thirty years old. From the fire that burned on the 
hearth her cheeks were still more reddened, so that it seemed, 
as they say, the redness sprang right out of her. On a little 
stool on the balcony sat a little girl, who wore, according to 
the prevailing fashion, a red satin fez on her head. This was 
Toros’s sister. I have seen many beautiful girls in my time, 
but never a prettier one. Her name was Takusch. 

Getting the mother’s consent, we entered the garden, where 
we helped ourselves freely to the good fruit and enjoyed the 
fragrance of many flowers. At noon, Sarkis came home from 
the store, and invited me to dinner. My gaze was continually 
directed toward the beautiful Takusch. Oh, well-remembered 
years! What a pity it is that they pass by so quickly! Two 
or three months later I journeyed to the Black Sea, where I 
was apprenticed to a merchant, and since that time I have not 
been in my native city—for some twenty-four years—and all 
that I have told was awakened in my memory in a trice by my 
meeting with Hripsime. 

The old woman was still standing on the site of the 
choked-up spring, scratching around on the ground with her 
stick. 

“Nurse Hripsime, where is Sarkis and his family now?” 
I asked. 

“ Did you know him, then?” she asked, astonished. 

“Yes, a little,” I replied. 

“Your parents were acquainted with him?” 

“No. I was only once in his house, and then as a boy.” 

“Oh, then! That was his happiest time. What pleasant 
times we had in his garden! Formerly it was not as it is now 


26 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


—not a trace of their pleasant garden remains. The house 
has disappeared. Look again: yonder was the kitchen, there 
the hen-house, there the barn, and here the spring.” 

As she spoke she pointed out with her stick each place, but 
of the buildings she named not a trace was to be seen. 

“ Ah, my son,” she went on, “ he who destroyed the happi- 
ness of these good, pious people, who tore down their house 
and scattered the whole family to the winds, may that man 
be judged by God! He fell like a wolf upon their goods and 
chattels. I wish no evil to him, but if there is a God in heaven 
may he find no peace in his house, may his children bring no 
joy to him, and may no happiness find its way within his four 
walls. As he ruined those four poor wretches and was guilty 
of their early death, so may he roam over the wide world with- 
out rest nor find in sleep any comfort! Yes, may his trouble 
and sorrow increase with the abundance of his wealth! 

““T knew Sarkis when he was still a boy. When you knew 
him he must have been about forty years old. He was always 
just as you saw him: reserved, discreet, pious, beneficent to 
the poor, and hospitable. It never occurred that he spoke 
harshly to his wife or raised his hand against his children. He 
was ever satisfied with what he had; never complained that 
he had too little, or coveted the possessions of others. Yes, 
a pious man was Sarkis, and his wife had the same virtues. 
Early in childhood she lost her parents, and relatives of her 
mother adopted her, but treated her badly. Yes, bitter is 
the lot of the orphan, for even if they have means they are 
no better off than the poor! They said that when her father 
died he left her a store with goods worth about 3,000 rubles, 
and beside that 2,000 ducats in cash; but he was hardly dead 
when the relations came and secured the stock and gold as 
guardians of the orphan. When she was fourteen years old, 
one after another wooed her, but when the go-betweens found 
out that there was nothing left of her property they went away 
and let the girl alone. 

“Happily for her, Sarkis appeared, and said: ‘I want a 
wife; I seek no riches.’ Of course, the relations gave her to 
him at once, and with her all sorts of trumpery, some half- 
ruined furniture, and a few gold pieces. ‘ That is all her father 
left,’ they said, and demanded from him a receipt for the 


THE VACANT YARD 27 


whole legacy from her father. That was the way they shook 
her off! 

“ At that time Sarkis himself had nothing, and was just as 
poor as his wife. He was clerk in a store, and received not 
more than 150 rubles in notes yearly, which were worth in 
current money scarcely one-third their face value. Yes, they 
were both poor, but God’s mercy is great and no one can 
fathom his purposes! In the same year the merchant whom 
he served suddenly died after making over to Sarkis the whole 
store and all that was in it, on condition that a certain sum 
should be paid every year to the widow. 

“ Sarkis took the business, and after three years he was sole 
owner of it. He increased it continually, and on the plot of 
ground he had inherited from his father he built a pretty house 
and moved into it. In the same year God gave him a daugh- 
ter, whom he named Takusch, and four years later his son 
Toros came into the world. 

“So these two orphans established a household and became 
somebodies; people who had laughed at them now sought 
their society, and began to vie with each other in praising 
Sarkis. But Sarkis remained the same God-fearing Sarkis. 
He spoke evil of no one, and even of his wife’s relatives, who 
had robbed him, he said nothing. Indeed, when they had gone 
through that inheritance and were in want he even helped them 
out. 

“ As I have said, Sarkis refused no one his assistance, but 
his wife had also a good heart. The good things she did can- 
not be told. How often she baked cracknel, cakes, rolls, and 
sweet biscuit, and sent great plates full of them to those who 
could not have such things, for she said, ‘ May those who pass 
by and smell the fragrance of my cakes never desire them in 
vain.’ 

“About this time my husband died—may God bless him! 
—and I was living alone. Sarkis’s wife came to me and 
said, ‘Why will you live so lonely in your house? Rent it 
and come to us.’ Of course, I did not hesitate long. I laid 
my things away in a large chest and moved over to their 
house, and soon we lived together like two sisters. Takusch 
was at that time four years old, and Toros was still a baby in 
arms. I lived ten years at their house, and heard not a single 


28 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


harsh word from them. Not once did they say to me, ‘ You 
eat our bread, you drink our water, you wear our clothing.’ 
They never indulged in such talk: on the contrary, they 
placed me in the seat of honor. Yes, so they honored me, 
And, good heavens! what was I to them! Neither mother nor 
sister nor aunt, in no way related to them. I was a stranger 
taken from the streets. 

“Yes, such God-fearing people were Sarkis and his wife. 
The poor wretches believed that all mankind were as pure 
in heart as they were. I had even at that time a presentiment 
that they would not end well, and often remonstrated with 
them, begging them to be on their guard with people. But it 
was useless for me to talk, for they sang the old songs again. 

“ Like a sweet dream my years with the good people passed. 
Surely pure mother’s milk had nourished them! I knew 
neither pain nor grief, nor did I think of what I should eat to- 
morrow, nor of how I could clothe myself. As bounteous 
as the hand of God was their house to me. Twelve months in 
every year I sat peacefully at my spinning-wheel and carried 
on my own business. 

“Once during dog-days—Takusch was at that time fifteen 
years old and beginning her sixteenth year—toward evening, 
according to an old custom, we spread a carpet in the garden 
and placed a little table there for tea. Near us steamed and 
hissed the clean shining tea-urn, and around us roses and 
pinks shed their sweet odors. It was a beautiful evening, and 
it became more beautiful when the full moon rose in the 
heavens like a golden platter. I remember that evening as 
clearly as though it were yesterday. Takusch poured out the 
tea, and Auntie Mairam, Sarkis’s wife, took a cup; but as 
she lifted it to her lips it fell out of her hand and the tea was 
spilled over her dress. 

“My spirits fell when I saw this, for my heart told me that 
it meant something bad was coming. ‘ Keep away, evil; come, 
good,’ I whispered, and crossed myself in silence. I glanced 
at Takusch and saw that the poor child had changed color. 
Then her innocent soul also felt that something evil was near! 
Sarkis and Mairam, however, remained in merry mood and 
thought of nothing of that sort. But if you believe not a 
thousand times that something is to come, it comes just the 


THE VACANT YARD 29 


same! Mairam took her napkin and wiped off her dress and 
Takusch poured her a fresh cup. ‘There will come a guest 
with a sweet tongue,’ said Sarkis, smiling. ‘ Mairam, go and 
put another dress on. You will certainly be ashamed if any- 
one comes.’ 

““Who can come to-day, so late?’ said Mairam, smiling; 
“and, beside, the dress will dry quickly.’ 

“Scarcely had she spoken when the garden door opened 
with a rush and a gentleman entered the enclosure. He had 
hardly stepped into the garden when he began to blab with 
his goat’s voice like a windmill. 

‘* Good-evening. How are you? You are drinking tea? 
That is very fine for you. What magnificent air you have 
here! Good-evening, Mr. Sarkis. Good-evening, Mrs. 
Mairam. Good-evening, Hripsime. What are you doing? 
I like to drink tea in the open air. What a beautiful garden 
you have. Dare I taste these cherries? Well—they are not 
bad ; no, indeed, they are splendid cherries. If you will give me 
a napkin full of these cherries I will carry them home to my 
wife. And what magnificent apricots! Mr. Sarkis, do you 
know what! Sell me your house. No, I will say some- 
thing better to you. Come to my store—you know where it 
is—yonder in the new two-storied house. Yes, yes, come 
over there and we will sit down pleasantly by the desk and 
gossip about Moscow happenings.’ 

“ We were as if turned to stone. There are in the world 
many kinds of madmen, chatterboxes, and braggarts, but 
such a creature as this I saw for the first time in my life, and 
do you know who it was? Hemorrhoid Jack. 

“ Have you heard of him? Have you seen this hostage of 
God?” Hripsime asked. 

“No, I do not know him,” I said. 

“What! and you live in our city? Is there anyone who 
does not know the scoundrel? Go to the brokers, and they 
will tell you many he has thrown out of house and home by 
fraud and hunted out of the city. Have you ever seen how a 
bird-catcher lures the birds into his net—how he whistles to 
them? That’s the way this John gets the people into his traps. 
To-day he will act as if altogether stupid. To-morrow he is 
suddenly shrewd, and understands the business well. Then 


30 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


he is simple again and a pure lamb. Now he is avaricious, 
now generous. And so he goes on. Yes, he slips around 
among the people like a fox with his tail wagging, and when 
he picks out his victim, he fastens his teeth in his neck and 
the poor beggar is lost. He gets him in his debt and never 
lets him get his breath between interest payments, or he robs 
him almost of his last shirt and lets him run. But see how I 
run away from my story! 

““* Good-evening, said Sarkis, as soon as he perceived 
Hemorrhoid Jack, and offered him his hand. ‘What wind 
has blown you here? Mairam, a cup of tea for our honored 
Mr. John.’ 

“¢ Mr. Sarkis, do you know why I have come to you?’ be- 
gan Jack. ‘The whole world is full of your praise; every- 
where they are talking about you, and I thought to myself, 
“T must go there and see what kind of a man this Sarkis is.” 
And so here Iam. Excuse my boldness. I cannot help it: 
I resemble in no way your stay-at-home. 

“¢*T am somewhat after the European fashion, you know. 
Who pleases me, I visit him quite simply. Present. myself 
and make his acquaintance. Then I invite him to my house, 
go again to his and bring my family with me. Yes, such a 
fellow am I, let them laugh at me who will.’ 

“< Qh,’ I thought, ‘poor Sarkis is already fallen into the 
net, and his family with him.’ 

“ Meanwhile, Mairam had poured the tea, placed the cup on 
a tray, and Takusch had put it before Jack. 

“* Where did you buy the tea?’ he began, taking the cup. 
‘When you want tea, buy it of me, I pray. You know, I am 
sure, where my store is. I can give you every desirable brand, 
and at low price. The tea that cost two rubles I will give to 
you for one ruble ninety-five kopecks. Yes, I will sell it to 
you at a loss. Oh, what bad tea you drink!’ At the same 
time he began to sip and in a moment emptied the cup. ‘Be 
so good as to give me another cup,’ he said. ‘In the fresh air 
one gets an appetite. If I am to enjoy tea-drinking, let me 
hitch up my carriage and drive out to the Monastery Gardens. 
There, out-of-doors, I drink two or three glasses and settle 
for them. Yes, such European customs please me.’ 

“* May it benefit you!’ said Sarkis. 


THE VACANT YARD 31 


“* Now, now, Mr. Sarkis, are you coming to my house to- 
morrow?’ asked Hemorrhoid Jack. 

“*T will see,’ answered Sarkis. 

““ What is there to see? If you want to come, come then. 
We will sit behind the counter, drink our glass of tea, and chat. 
Now and then, we will talk about European affairs, bookkeep- 
ing, news, and other things.’ 

“* All right, I shall surely come. I shall not forget.’ 

““ Good. And now it is time for me to be gone, for I must 
make two more visits to-day,’ remarked Hemorrhoid Jack. 

“* Do they pay visits at this hour?’ responded Sarkis. ‘ It 
must be nearly ten o'clock. Takusch, get a light.’ 

“Takusch went into the room, and soon returned with a 
light. Sarkis took out his watch, and coming near the light 
said: ‘ Look, it is already a quarter to ten.’ 

“ John looked, and at once cried out: ‘ Oh, Mr. Sarkis, what 
a magnificent watch you have! Where did you get it? It 
appears to me to be acostly one. Let me see it.’ 

“ “This watch I received as a gift from our late Czar. You 
know that several years ago our late Czar visited Taganrog. 
On this occasion the people of Taganrog wished to give him 
a magnificent horse, but they could not find an appropriate 
saddle. It happened that I had one that would do, and when 
they heard of it, they came to me and told me for what they 
needed the saddle. Who would not be ready to make such a 
sacrifice for the Czar? Indeed, who would not only sacrifice a 
costly saddle (and this one was not worth much), but even his 
life, gladly, if need be? ‘Therefore, I immediately hired a 
wagon, and taking this extraordinary saddle with me and 
then on to Taganrog to the governor’s. 

“«“ Your Highness seeks a saddle?” I asked. 

«<< Ves, indeed,” he answered. 

“of Here itis, said I: 

“«“ Thank you,” he said, and pressed my hand. Then he 
led me into his own room. By George! it looked like one in 
a king’s castlt. He had me sit down, served me with tea, in- 
vited me to dine at his table: in a word, he treated me well. 
At my departure, he took out of a drawer a ring set with 
genuine brilliants, gave it to me, and said, “ Take this from me 
as a gift, and what I receive from the Czar‘I will give to you 


32 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


also.” And he kept his word. The Czar really came, anu 
they gave him the horse with my saddle. His Majesty thanked 
me for it and gave me this watch. Look, now, what a beauti- 
ful one it is!’ 

“<“ Ves, truly, it is a pretty thing. Show me it again. I 
wish to see what kind of a watch it is,’ said Hemorrhoid Jack, 
examining the watch. ‘And have you the ring by you? Can 
I see it? Oh, let me see what kind of a thing it is. I like to 
see such things, particularly if they come from persons of high 
rank.’ 

“ “Ts the ring not in the chest of drawers?’ said Sarkis, look- 
ing around toward his wife. 

“Yes, I keep it there,’ answered Mairam, faintly, for she 
might well foresee something evil. “Who is it routs about in 
the chest of drawers in the night?’ 

““Good Auntie Mairam,’ began Jack, in a wheedling tone, 
‘I beg of you, bring the ring, that I may see it. Be so kind! 
When I see such a rare thing my heart leaps in my breast with 
delight. It is true joy for me to hold such things in my hand 
and look at them. Bring me the ring, I beg of you.’ 

“TI looked at him at that moment, and he seemed to mé 
like a veritable gypsy. Had I not been obliged to consider 
those present, I should certainly have spit in his face, so great 
was my aversion to this scoundrel. Yes, what the proverb says 
is true: ‘If a rich man becomes poor, he is scented for years 
with his wealth; if a poor man grows rich he stinks of poverty 
for forty years!’ That was the way with this Hemorrhoid 
Jack. Oh, if it had been in my power I would have seized the 
scoundrel by the collar and thrown him out of the gate. But 
Sarkis was not of my temperament; he had a gentle heart 
and was meek asalamb. I went up to him, pushed his elbow, 
and whispered: 

“ “What are you doing, you good-natured fool? Why did 
you let him take the watch in his hand? And are you going 
to show the ring, too? You will see, he has bad intentions. 
I’ll bet my head he will bring misfortune on yours. Do you 
not see his greedy eyes? He will ruin you altogether, you 
and house, and ground,’ I said. 

“TI had my trouble for my pains. Although a man of ripe 
years, Sarkis was nevertheless like a mere boy, believing all 


THE VACANT YARD 33 


people as honest as himself. Heaven knows! perhaps such 
a fate was destined for him, and it was impossible for him to 
get out of the way of misfortune. 

“ Mairam brought the ring, and as soon as the scoundrel 
saw it he grabbed it from her hand and put it on his finger. 

“* What a pretty thing it is!’ he said, smirking. ‘ How it 
glistens! What a precious ring! What wonderfully beau- 
tiful brilliants! What ought I to give you for such a ring? 
Tell me. It pleases me exceedingly. Yes, without joking, 
sell it to me. No, we will arrange it otherwise: I will give 
you all kinds of goods out of my store at a very low price, yes, 
very cheap. May the apoplexy strike me if 1 make anything 
out of you! I will sell you everything at cost price, and if you 
wish, will give you ten kopecks rebate on the ruble.’ 

““ No, my dear sir,’ said Mairam, embarrassed. ‘Can one 
sell a souvenir of the Czar, and one of such great value? We 
have no occasion to do it. We are no Jews, to sell off every- 
thing, to turn into money whatever comes into our hands. Are 
we such poor beggars that we cannot have something good and 
valuable in our chest? No, Mr. John, what you say seems to 
me to be very singular. You are rich, yet you say that you 
have never in your life seen a gold watch nor a ring set with 
brilliants. It seems to me a fine new custom that one must 
immediately have what one sees. No, dear sir, cast not your 
eyes upon our property; be content with what you have.’ 

“*™Mrs. Mairam,’ said the scoundrel, smirking, ‘why are 
you so angry? May one not joke with you?’ 

“* A fine joke!’ I said, putting in my oar. ‘ You looked at 
the trees, and you will at once tear them down. You fell on 
the fruit like a wolf. You saw the garden, and at once wanted 
to buy. Now you want the ring, and will exchange for it 
your wares. What sort of tomfoolery are you talking to us? 
You are either crazy yourself or will make others so. The 
apple falls not far from the stem—one sees that in you.’ 

“* Aunt Hripsime, why are you so cross? Dare one not 
jest?’ 

“* Enough, enough; I understand your joke very well,’ I 
cried indignantly. 

“Yes, we women scolded him right well, but Sarkis said 
no earthly word. He sat there dumb and speechless as the 

3 


34 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


stick in my hand. The Lord God gave him a tongue to speak 
with, but, dear heaven, he sat there like a clod and never ut- 
tered a syllable. I was like to burst with wrath. 

“ Then that unscrupulous fellow repeated his speech. ‘ Don’t 
you understand a joke? Have you, then, no sense of fun?’ 
He would have struck us over the ear, and that the fellow 
called a joke! And how the creature looked! His face was 
like a drum-skin. It was as though someone had wiped off 
the holy oil from this grimacing mask with a _ butcher’s 
sponge. Yes, here you see how people become rich; how 
they get hold of other people’s property. Conscience hunts 
the scoundrel to the deuce: he lets his skin grow thick; feigns 
outwardly to be dull; if anyone spits in his face he regards 
it only as a May-shower; if anyone goes for him for his ras- 
cality, he takes it as a joke. And so the rascals become rich! 
One must be born to those things, that’s the way I see it. 

“Tf you knew all that we said to this scoundrel’s face! We 
all but seized him by the collar and threw him out the gate. 
We belabored him well, but the fellow stood as if dumb, re- 
mained silent, and laughed in our faces as if we had been 
speaking to each other and not to him. He neither took the 
watch out of his pocket nor the ring from his finger. Finally, 
I thought to myself, ‘ I will wait a little and see what will hap- 
pen.’ 

“And do you know what this bad fellow said to our Sarkis 
after a short silence? ‘ Your watch and ring please me well, 
old fellow. Let me take them for a month or two. I will 
send them to Moscow and have some like them made for 
myself. As soon as I get them back I will give them back to 
you unhurt.’ 

“Our stupid Sarkis dared not say no, and he had his way. 

““ Take them,’ said Sarkis, “ but take care that they do not 
go astray, ‘for f | 

“* But what are you thinking about?’ answered the scoun- 
drel. ‘Am I then Where do you buy your calico?’ 
the scoundrel began after a pause. “How much do you pay 
an ell? Where do you buy your linen cloth? How high does 
it come by the ell? Where do you buy your silk and satin?’ 

““Heaven knows what all he prated about, and Sarkis an- 
swered him and told everything just as it really was. 


THE VACANT YARD 35 


“* We buy our manufactured goods of Yellow Pogos,’ and 
told the prices of everything without reserve. 

“* Have you lost your wits, man?’ cried Hemorrhoid Jack. 
“Can any man in his full senses buy anything of Yellow 
Pogos? Don’t you know that he is a swindler? Why don't 
you buy your goods of me? I will give them to you cheaper 
by half.’ 

“To this Sarkis answered, ‘ When I need something again 
I will buy it of you.’ 

“I knew well enough that Sarkis needed nothing at the 
time, and that he said this only to get rid of the fellow. But 
Jack did not or would not understand, and began again. 

“No, do not put it that way,’ he said. ‘Come to-morrow 
and pick out what pleases you. Do not think for a minute 
that I wish to make money out of you. Let the goods lie in 
your closet, for, between ourselves, goods were very cheap in 
Moscow this year, and I cleverly threw out my line and 
bought everything at half price, This year is a lucky one for 
my customers. If one of them will let his goods lie a little 
while he will certainly double his money on them. Yes, buy, 
I tell you, but not by the ell. Buy by the piece and you will 
not regret it, I assure you. I will send you in the morning 
five or six different kinds of goods.’ 

“*But why such haste?’ said Mairam. ‘My chest of 
drawers is full of stuff for clothes, and what I am wearing is 
still quite new. If we need anything we will come to you.’ 

‘““* What are you talking about, Auntie Mairam?’ answered 
Hemorrhoid Jack. ‘Do you not believe me? I tell you, 
you can get double for the goods, and tf you cannot use 
everything yourself, give it to your neighbors. You will do 
good business. On my word of honor, I swear to you, you 
will make double on it. Would I lie for the sake of such a 
trifle? Whom do you think you have here? But that is a 
small matter: I have still something better to propose. You 
must take a shipment of tea from me. In the winter the price 
will rise, and you can make enormous profits out of it. To- 
morrow I will send you one chest—for the present. Well? 
Now, really, I will send it to you.” 

“¢My dear John,’ exclaimed Sarkis, ‘you must know how 
risky it is to begin a new business. I have never handled tea, 


36 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


and the thing appears to me somewhat daring. I know no 
customers for tea, and understand nothing about the goods. 
If it remains lying by me and spoils ' 

“* What empty straw are you threshing now?’ cried 
Hemorrhoid Jack. ‘As soon as the people know that you 
have tea to sell they will of their own accord come running 
into your store. Do you think that you will have to look up 
customers? In a week or two not a trace of your tea will 
remain. I speak from practical experience. This year little 
tea has been brought from Siberia, and what they have 
brought has almost all fallen into my hands. Do not think that 
I seek a buyer in you! God forbid! When I learned what a 
good man you were, I thought to myself, “I must give hima 
chance to make something. Yes, I want him to make a few 
kopecks.”’ Do you think I am in need of purchasers? Now, 
Sarkis, to-morrow I will send you the goods. What?’ 

“* By heaven, I know not how I ought to answer you. Do 
you know, I am afraid,’ said Sarkis. 

“The poor fellow could say nothing farther, for he was 
such an honest, good-natured fellow that it was hard for him 
to refuse anybody anything. The word ‘no’ did not exist for 
him. 

“* You are talking nonsense,’ began Hemorrhoid Jack 
anew. ‘Give up your grocery and set up a wholesale busi- 
ness. Manage it according to the European plan, and you 
shall see how thankful to me you will be in time. Do you be- 
lieve that I am your enemy? Would I advise you badly? 
Now, the matter is settled. In the morning I will send you 
several chests of tea and put them in your store. You will 
find out that Hemorrhoid Jack wishes you no ill. Yes, I will 
say something even better. You know what machorka is ?— 
a cheap tobacco that the poor folk smoke. What do you 
think of this stuff? Do you think that there is a class of goods 
more profitable than this? People make thousands from it, 
and build themselves fine houses. And what expenses have 
they with it? Put the tobacco in an empty stable or shed and 
it may lie there. A chest of it put on sale in your store and I 
tell you, if you do not make ruble for ruble out of it, then 
spit in my face. 

“* Last spring most of this stuff was in the hands of a Cos- 


THE VACANT YARD 37 


sack. The stupid fellow didn’t know what he ought to expect 
for it, and he needed money—this gander! I brought him 
home with me; had brandy, bread, and ham set out; and, after 
a little talk back and forth, I bought 400 chests at half price. 
Half I paid in cash, the rest in eighteen months. Now, wasn’t 
that a good trade? If I don’t make my 3,000 rubles out of 
it, I shall be a fool. If you like, I will send you some of these 
goods. Put it in your shop or in your shed and let it lie there; 
it eats and drinks nothing. Now, I tell you, if you do not 
make I00 per cent. out of it, spit in my face. Shall I send 
you a few chests of it?’ 

“* By heaven, I cannot go into it,’ answered Sarkis. ‘ Do 
you know, I am afraid to undertake a new trade? Ifthe stuff 
does not go off or spoils on my hands or the price falls, what 
shall I do? You know that our capital consists of only a few 
kopecks. We spend as we earn. If I run after the rubles 
and lose the kopecks thereby, who will give me something to 
eat?’ concluded the poor wretch, as if he scented some evil. 

“ But could he free himself from that Satan of a Hemorrhoid 
Jack? Like a leech he had fastened himself on his neck and 
_ demanded that he should buy the goods. 

“* Now, Sarkis,’ he began again, ‘the thing is settled. I 
am to send you in the morning manufactured goods, tea, and 
tobacco. Well?’ 

““*T will see; I must turn it over in my mind,’ stammered 
Sarkis. He wanted to be rid of him, but he knew not how 
to begin. 

“* What does that “I will see!”? mean? Nothing,’ the 
other continued. ‘You may see a thousand times and you 
will not find again such good goods and such a favorable 
opportunity. I speak from experience. You must not let 
this chance slip by or you will throw gold out of the window 
with your own hands. I am talking about great gains, great 
profits ; do you think it is a joke?’ 

““* We shall see,’ said poor Sarkis. ‘We have many days 
before us. Yes, we will surely do something.’ 

“* What you do now is not worth much,’ cried Hemorrhoid 
Jack. ‘I see that if I leave the thing to your decision, in five 
years you will not have reached one. Isn’t that true? In the 
morning I will send you one load of goods and the rest later.’ 


38 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


“With these words he seized his cap, quickly made his 
adieus, and went away. 

“It was nearly one o’clock; Mairam and Takusch were sit- 
ting there asleep and I also was very sleepy, but I fought 
against my sleepiness to watch that devil of a Hemorrhoid 
Jack. Mankind can be a priest to mankind—also a Satan! 

“When he was in the street, Sarkis said to me: ‘ What a 
wonderful conversation we have had this evening. Of all this 
man has said, I understand nothing. His purposes are not 
exactly bad, but I don’t know how it happens—my heart 
presages something of evil.’ 

“I was just going to answer him when suddenly I sneezed; 
but only once. 

““* See now,’ I said to Sarkis; ‘I was right in saying he was 
going to trick you. Now it has proved itself.’ 

“Tf one sneezes only once by day that is a bad sign, but 
at night it means something good,’ he interrupted me. 

““* Oh,’ I said, ‘do not, I pray, give me lessons; don’t teach 
me what a sneeze is the sign of. Whether it is in the day- 
time or at night it is a bad sign, and if one just made up his 
mind to do anything, he should let it drop.’ 

“Sarkis would not give in that I was right, but began to 
chatter about a sneeze at night being a good thing. I said 
no and he said yes, and so it went on until I finally gave it 


up.” 

““* Oh,’ I said, ‘have your own way, but when misfortune 
comes to you do not blame me for it.’ 

“*T have really begun nothing,’ he observed. ‘That was 
only a talk. We have only discussed something. I have 
really no desire to try my hand with the tea and tobacco.’ 

“That he said to me, but heaven only knows! perhaps in 
his thoughts he was already counting the thousands he hoped 
to earn. Money has such power that my blessed grand- 
mother always said that the devil had invented it. He had 
racked his brains to find a way to lead mankind into wicked- 
ness and did not succeed until he invented money. Then he 
was master of our souls. How many men money has deprived 
of reason! Sarkis was not of so firm a mind that he would 
be able to stand out against such rosy hopes. 

“The next day, early in the morning, the shop-boy came 


THE VACANT YARD Vaio 


running into the house in a great hurry, and said that nine 
cart-loads of goods were standing at the gate. The man who 
was in charge of them was asking for Sarkis. 

“* What kind of an invasion is this!’ cried Sarkis. ‘I must 
go and see who it is. Perhaps the loads are not for me at all. 
God knows for whom they are!’ 

“ He went out, and we after him. Although I had not seen 
the loads of goods, I knew the whole story in a moment. 

‘“ Before we had reached the gate a man met us and said: 

‘““* My master sends you greeting and begs you to take these 
nine wagon-loads of goods and sign for them.’ 

“* Who is your master?’ we asked, all together. 

“* Hemorrhoid Jack. Don’t you know him? He was at 
your house last evening.’ 

“T was ready to burst with anger. 

“* You fellow,’ I said, ‘ who told your master to send these 
goods here? Have we ordered anything? Turn at once and 
get out of the room.’ 

“*Ts that so!’ said the man. ‘ After a thing is settled you 
can’t take back your word. Where shall I put the goods 
now?’ 

“* Where you brought them from, take them back there!’ 

“*The coach-house is closed.’ 

“* That does not concern us; that is your master’s affair.’ 

“ «Tf he were here I would tell him, but he is not here.’ 

“* Where is he then?’ I asked. 

“* He has gone to Taganrog.’ 

“* When did he start?’ 

“* About two hours ago. He will not be back for two 
months, for he has very important business in the courts.’ 

“Tt could not be doubted now that this villain of a John 
had already begun his tricks; but that innocent Sarkis did not 
see through his devilish purposes. Had I been in his place 
I would have run immediately to the City Hall and told every 
detail of the business, and the thing would have come out all 
right. But Sarkis was not the man for that. 

“* Well, if that is the case drive into the yard and unload. 
The goods cannot stand in the street. When Jack comes back 
from Taganrog I will arrange things with him in some way.’ 

“The wagons came into the yard with a clatter and the 


40 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


driver unloaded the goods and piled them up in the coach- 
house. I stood as if turned to stone and silently watched this 
move in their game. ‘ What will come of it?’ I thought to 
myself. 

“Ah, but I would rather have died than see what did come 
of it! 

““ When the goods were unloaded the clerk demanded a re- 
ceipt, which Sarkis gave him without hesitation, whereupon 
the clerk went away satisfied. 

“Later we heard that Jack had not gone to Taganrog at all, 
and had only ordered the clerk to say so. 

“That same day when we were sitting at dinner, Sarkis 
turned to me and said: ‘See, Hripsime, your sneeze has 
cheated you. Did you not say that Jack was going to play a 
trick on me? You see something very different has hap- 
pened. This forenoon four or five persons came into my shop 
who wished to buy tea and tobacco. I told them the matter 
was not yet settled; that we had not agreed on the price; as 
soon as the agreement was made I would begin business. Do 
you see? I have not advertised that I was going to handle 
the goods, yet everybody knows it and one customer after 
another comes into my store. How will it be when the goods 
are put on sale?—they will fight for them. It will give me a 
great deal to do; I must only go to John and settle on the 
terms. Yes, little mother, such a wholesale trade is not to 
be despised; the wholesaler can often make more money in a 
moment than the retailer makes in two years. Yes, my love, 
in business that is really so!’ 

“* God grant that it may be so!’ I said, and nothing more 
was said about Jack. 

“Several months passed by and November came. One 
evening we were sitting together chatting comfortably when 
the door opened softly and an old woman entered. I knew 
immediately that she was a matchmaker. In three days 
Takusch was betrothed to a plain, middle-rate man. The wed- 
ding was to take place the next winter on her father’s name- 
day. As a dowry her parents promised 3,000 tubles—1,500 
in cash, and the rest in jewels. 

“‘Tagusch was at that time fifteen years old. Although I 
had lived in her parents’ house I had never looked right at- 


THE VACANT YARD 41 


tentively at her face, scarcely knew, in fact, whether she was 
beautiful or ugly ; but when on her betrothal day she put on a 
silk dress and adorned herself as is customary at such a festive 
time ; when she had put on her head a satin fez with gold tassels 
and a flower set with brilliants, I fairly gaped with admiration. 
I am almost eighty years old, but in all my life I have never 
seen a more beautiful girl. 

“Tam no dwarf, but she was a few inches taller than I. She 
was slender as a sweet-pine tree. Her hands were delicate 
and soft, her fingers were like wax. Hair and eyebrows were 
black, and her face like snow. Her cheeks were tinged rose- 
red, and her glance! that I cannot forget even to this day. It 
was brighter than a genuine Holland diamond. Her eyelashes 
were so long that they cast shadows on her cheeks. No, such 
a charming creature I have never seen in dreams, let alone 
reality. She was—God forgive my sins—the pure image of 
the Mother of God in our church; yes, she was even more 
beautiful. When I looked at her I could not turn my eyes 
away again. I gazed at her and could not look enough. On 
the betrothal day I sat in the corner of the room with my eyes 
nailed on Takusch. 

“* How sorry I am,’ thought I, ‘that you with that angel 
face are to be the wife of a commonplace man, to be the mother 
of a family and go into a dirty, smoky kitchen. Shall your 
tender hands become hard as leather with washing, ironing, 
kneading, and who knows what housework beside? Shall 
your angel cheeks fade from the heat of the oven and your 
eyes lose their diamond-shine from sewing?’ Yes, so thought 
I, and my heart bled within me for this girl who ought to wear 
a queen’s crown and live in a palace. Surely, if this rose 
maiden had lived in olden times she would certainly have mar- 
ried a king or a king’s son. And the poor thing stood there 
like a lamb, for she did not understand what life was, She 
thought marriage would be nothing more than a change in 
her dwelling-place. Oh, but I was sorry that evening that she 
was going to marry only an ordinary, but still eligible, young 
man, and yet it would have been a great good fortune for her 
if this had come to pass. Had we thought at that time that 
great misfortunes were in store for the poor child! And that 
cursed Hemorrhoid Jack was the cause of them all! 


42 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


“That betrothal day was the last happy day of the poor 
wretches. I never afterward saw smiles on their faces, for 
from that day their circumstances grew worse and worse and 
their business became very bad. They lost house and ground, 
moved about for several months from one rented house to 
another, until finally they disappeared from the city. 

“The day after the betrothal Hemorrhoid Jack sent word 
to Sarkis by his clerk that Sarkis must pay 2,700 rubles for 
the tobacco and tea and 184 rubles for the manufactured 
goods. I have forgotten to tell you that among the latter 
were old-fashioned dress-goods, taxed cloth, linen, satin, and 
some silk. The clerk also said that if Sarkis did not pay the 
184 rubles the ring and watch would be retained. 

“Poor Sarkis was completely dazed. 

“* Have I bought the goods?’ he asked. 

“* Certainly you have bought them,’ answered the un- 
scrupulous clerk. ‘Otherwise you would not have sold a 
chest of tea and a bale of tobacco. Beside, the coat your boy 
is wearing was made from our cloth.’ 

“This was true. On the third day after receiving the goods, 
Sarkis had sold a bale of tobacco and a chest of tea, and had 
cut off several yards of cloth. It was very singular that in the 
course of three months Sarkis had not once caught sight of 
Hemorrhoid Jack to call him to account for the delivery of 
the goods. He had been several times to his house, where 
they said, ‘He is at the store.’ At the store they said Jack 
was at home. It was very evident that he wished to defraud 
Sarkis. After much talk back and forth the matter came into 
the courts, and since Sarkis had sold part of the goods and 
had given a receipt for them, he had to pay the sum de- 
manded. ! 

“For several months past business had been going very 
badly with the poor fellow and he could not raise the required 
sum, so he had to give up his property. First they drove the 
poor man out of his house and emptied his store and his store- 
house. Then they sold the tobacco and the tea, for which 
no one would give more than fifty rubles, for both were half 
rotten. The store and all that was in it were then auctioned 
off for a few hundred rubles, and finally the house was offered 
for sale. No one would buy it, for among our people the 


THE VACANT YARD 43 


praiseworthy custom rules that they never buy a house put 
up at auction till they convince themselves that the owner sells 
it of his own free-will. The household furniture was also sold, 
and Sarkis became almost a beggar, and was obliged, half 
naked, to leave his house, with his wife and children. 

“T proposed that they should occupy my house, but he 
would not have it. ‘ From to-day the black earth is my dwell- 
ing-place,’ he said, and rented a small house at the edge of the 
town near where the fields begin. 

“When the neighbors found out the treachery of Hemor- 
rhoid Jack, they were terribly angry, and one of them threw 
a note into his yard in which was written: that if he took 
possession of poor Sarkis’s house they would tear or burn it 
down. That was just what John wished, and he immediately 
sent carpenters to tear down the house and stable and then 
he sold the wood. 

“At this time I became very sick and lay two months in 
bed. When I got up again I thought to myself, ‘I must go 
and visit the poor wretches!’ I went to their little house, but 
found the door locked and the windows boarded up. I asked 
a boy, ‘ My child, do you know where the people of this house 
are?’ “Two weeks ago they got into a wagon and drove 
away, answered the lad. ‘ Where are they gone?’ I asked. 
‘That I don’t know,’ he said. 

“TI would not have believed it, but an old woman came up 
to me on the street, of her own accord, and said: 

“* They all got into a wagon and have moved away into a 
Russian village.’ 

“What the village was called she could not tell me, and 
so every trace of them was lost. 

“Many years later a gentleman came from Stavropol to 
our city, who gave me some news of the poor wretches. They 
had settled in a Cossack village—he told me the name, but I 
have forgotten—where at first they suffered great want; and 
just as things were going a little better with them, Mairam and 
Sarkis died of the cholera and Takusch and Toros were left 
alone. Soon after, a Russian officer saw Takusch and was 
greatly pleased with her. After a few months she married him. 
Toros carried on his father’s business for a time, then gave it 
up and joined the army. So much I found out from the gen- 
tleman from Stavropol. 


44 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


“Some time later I met again one who knew Takusch. He 
told me that she was now a widow. Her husband had been a 
drunkard, spent his whole nights in inns, often struck his poor 
wife, and treated her very badly. Finally they brought him 
home dead. Toros’s neck had been broken at a horse-race and 
he was dead. He said also that Takusch had almost forgotten 
the Armenian language and had changed her faith. 

“That is the history of the Vacant Yard.” 


ARMENIAN POEMS 


[Metrical Version, by Robert Arnot, M.A.| 


‘ ma i 
NV ie 


ire 


ay 
j hy, 
} Uy 


: ' 
tila 
Pe | 
a? 

5 


ni 
beet 


Maint 
hh 
Hl iy 
Sh Wy 
ye 
aR 


on 


ARMENIAN POEMS 


A PLAINT 


ERE I a springtime breeze, 
A breeze in the time when the song-birds pair, 
I’d tenderly smooth and caress your hair, 

And hide from your eyes in the budding trees. 


Were I a June-time rose, 
I’d glow in the ardor of summer’s behest, 
And die in my passion upon your breast, 
In the passion that only a lover knows. 


Were I a lilting bird, 
I’d fly with my song and my joy and my pain, 
And beat at your lattice like summer-rain, 

Till I knew that your inmost heart was stirred. 


Were I a wingéd dream, 
I’d steal in the night to your slumbering side, 
And the joys of hope in your bosom I'd hide, 
And pass on my way like a murmuring stream. 


Tell me the truth, the truth, 
Have I merited woe at your tapering hands, 
Have you wilfully burst love’s twining strands, 
And cast to the winds affection and ruth? 


"Twas a fleeting vision of joy, 
While you loved me you plumed your silvery wings, 
And in fear of the pain that a man’s love brings 
You fled to a bliss that has no alloy. 
MucurpitcH BESHETTASHLAIN. 
47 


48 


ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


SPRING IN EXILE 


Wind of the morn, of the morn of the year, 
Violet-laden breath of spring, 
To the flowers and the lasses whispering 
Things that a man’s ear cannot hear, 
In thy friendly grasp I would lay my hand, 
But thou comest not from my native land. 


Birds of the morn, of the morn of the year, 
Chanting your lays in the bosky dell, 
Higher and fuller your round notes swell, 

Till the Fauns and the Dryads peer forth to hear 

The trilling lays of your feathery band: 

Ye came not, alas, from my native land. 


Brook of the morn, of the morn of the year, 
Burbling joyfully on your way, 
Maiden and rose and woodland fay 
Use as a mirror your waters clear: 
But I mourn as upon your banks I stand, 
That you come not, alas, from my native land. 


Breezes and birds and brooks of the Spring, 
Chanting your lays in the morn of the year, 
Though Armenia, my country, be wasted and sere, 

And mourns for her maidens who never shall sing, 


_ Yet a storm, did it come from that desolate land, 


Would awaken a joy that ye cannot command. 
RAPHAEL PATKANIAN. 


PLY, LAYS OF )} MINE! 


Fly, lays of mine, but not to any clime 
Where happiness and light and love prevail, 
But seek the spots where woe and ill and crime 
Leave as they pass a noisome serpent-trail 


Fly, lays of mine, but not to the ether blue, 
Where golden sparks illume the heavenly sphere, 


THE WOE OF ARAXES 


But seek the depths where nothing that is true 
Relieves the eye or glads a listening ear. 


Fly, lays of mine, but not to fruitful plains 
Where spring the harvests by God’s benison, 

But seek the deserts where for needed rains 
Both prayers and curses rise in unison, 


Fly, lays of mine, but not to riotous halls, 

Where dancing sylphs supply voluptuous songs, 
But seek the huts where pestilence appals, 

And death completes the round of human wrongs, 


Fly, lays of mine, but not to happy wives, 
Whose days are one unending flow of bliss, 

But seek the maidens whose unfruitful lives 
Have known as yet no lover’s passionate kiss. 


Fly, lays of mine, and like the nightingales, 
Whose liquid liltings charm away the night, 

Reveal in song the sweets of summer’s gales, 
Of lover’s pleadings and of love’s delight. 


And tell my lady, when your quests are o’er, 
That I, away from her, my heart’s desire, 

Yearn for the blissful hour when I shall pour 
Down at her feet a love surcharged with fire. 


MuGuRDITCH BESHETTASHLAIN. 


THE WOE OF ARAXES 


Meditating by Araxes, 
Pacing slowly to and fro, 
Sought I traces of the grandeur 
Hidden by her turgid flow. 


“ Turgid are thy waters, Mother, 
As they beat upon the shore. 
Do they offer lamentations 
For Armenia evermore? 
4 


49 


50 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


“Gay should be thy mood, O Mother, 
As the sturgeons leap in glee: 
Ocean’s merging still is distant, 
Shouldest thou be sad, like me? 


“ Are thy spume-drifts tears, O Mother, 

Tears for those that are no more? 

Dost thou haste to pass by, weeping, 
This thine own beloved shore? ” 


Then uprose on high Araxes, 
Flung in air her spumy wave, 
And from out her depths maternal 

Sonorous her answer gave: 


“Why disturb me now, presumptuous, 
All my slumbering woe to wake? 
Why invade the eternal silence 
For a foolish question’s sake? 


“ Know’st thou not that I am widowed; 

Sons and daughters, consort, dead? 

Wouldst thou have me go rejoicing, 
As a bride to nuptial bed? 


“‘Wouldst thou have me decked in splendor, 
To rejoice a stranger’s sight, 
While the aliens that haunt me 
Bring me loathing, not delight? 


“ Traitress never I; Armenia 
Claims me ever as her own; 
Since her mighty doom hath fallen 

Never stranger have I known. 


“Yet the glories of my nuptials 
Heavy lie upon my soul; 

Once again I see the splendor 
And I hear the music roll. 


“Hear again the cries of children 
Ringing joyfully on my banks, 


THE ARMENIAN MAIDEN 51 


And the noise of marts and toilers, 
And the tread of serried ranks. 


“ But where, now, are all my people? 
Far in exile, homeless, lorn, 
While in widow’s weeds and hopeless, 
Weeping, sit I here and mourn. 


*“ Hear now! while my sons are absent 
Age-long fast I still shall keep; 
Till my children gain deliverance, 

Here I watch and pray and weep.” 


Silent, then, the mighty Mother 
Let her swelling tides go free, 
And in mournful meditation 
Slowly wandered to the sea. 
RAPHAEL PATKANIAN, 


THE ARMENIAN MAIDEN 


In the hush of the spring night dreaming 
The crescent moon have you seen, 

As it shimmers on apricots gleaming, 
Through velvety masses of green. 


Have you seen, in a June-tide nooning, 
A languorous full-blown rose 

In the arms of the lilies swooning 
And yielding her sweets to her foes? 


Yet the moon in its course and the roses 
By Armenia’s maiden pale, 

When she coyly and slowly discloses 
The glories beneath her veil. 


And a lute from her mother receiving, 
With a blush that a miser would move, 
She treads a soft measure, believing 
That music is sister to love. 


52 


ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


Like a sapling her form in its swaying, 
Full of slender and lissomy grace 

As she bends to the time of her playing, 
Or glides with a fairy-light pace. 


The lads for her beauty are burning, 
The elders hold forth on old age, 
But the maiden flies merrily spurning 
Youth, lover, and matron and sage. 
RAPHAEL PATKANIAN, 


ONE OF A THOUSAND 


Sweet lady, whence the sadness in your face? 
What heart’s desire is still unsatisfied r 

Your face and form are fair and full of grace, 
And silk and velvet lend you all their pride. 

A nod, a glance, and straight your maidens fly 
To execute your hest with loving zeal. 

By night and day you have your minstrelsy, 
Your feet soft carpets kiss and half conceal ; 
While fragrant blooms adorn your scented bower, 
Fruits fresh and rare lie in abundance near. 
The costly narghilé exerts its power 

To soothe vain longing and dispel all fear: 
Envy not angels; you have paradise. 

No lowly consort you. <A favored wife, 
Whose mighty husband can her wants suffices 
Why mar with grieving such a fortunate life? 


So to Haripsime, the Armenian maid, 

On whom the cruel fortune of her lot had laid 
Rejection of her faith, spake with a sigh 
The wrinkled, ugly, haggard slave near by. 


Haripsime replied not to the words, 

But, silent, turned her face away. With scorn 
And sorrow mingled were the swelling chords 
Of passionate lament, and then forlorn, 
Hopeless, she raised her tearful orbs to heaven. 


LONGING 


Silent her lips, her grief too deep for sound ; 

Her fixed gaze sought the heavy banks of cloud 
Surcharged with lightning bolts that played around 
The gloomy spires and minarets; then bowed 

Her head upon her hands; the unwilling eyes 
Shed tears as heavy as the thunder-shower 

That trails the bolt to where destruction lies. 


There was a time when she, a happy girl, 
Had home and parents and a numerous kin; 
But on an Eastertide, amid a whirl 

Of pillage, murder, and the savage din 

Of plundering Kavasses, the Pacha saw 
Her budding beauty, and his will was law. 


Her vengeful sire fell ‘neath a sabre’s stroke; 

Her mother, broken-hearted, gave to God 

The life in which no joys could now evoke 

The wonted happiness. The harem of the Turk 

Enfolds Haripsime’s fresh maidenhood, 

And there where danger and corruption lurk, 

Where Shitan’s nameless and befouling brood 

Surround each Georgian and Armenian pearl, 

She weeps and weeps, shunning the shallow joys 

Of trinkets, robes, of music, or the whirl 

Of joyous dance, of singing girls and boys, 

And murmurs always in a sobbing prayer, 

“Shall never help be sent? Is this despair?” 
RAPHAEL PATKANIAN, 


LONGING 


Tell me, brother, where is rest 

From the flame that racks my breast 
With its pain? 

Fires unceasing sear my heart; 

Ah, too long, too deep, the smart 
To heal again. 


54 


ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


When I’d pluck the roses sweet 
Sharpest thorns my fingers greet; 
Courage flies. 

Since my :ove has humbled me, 

Tyrant-like has troubled me, 
Spite my cries. 

Health and joy have taken flight, 

Prayer nor chant nor priestly rite 
Do I prize. 


Girl, my girl, my peerless one, 
Radiant as Armenia’s sun, 
Beautiful Sanan! 
Earth has none as fair as thou, 
Nor can ages gone bestow 
One like my Sanan. 


Sixteen summers old is she, 
Grace of slender pines has she, 
Like the stars her eyes. 
Lips, thrice blesséd whom they kiss, 
Brows as dark as hell’s abyss, 
And with sighs, 
Her heart to win, her love alone, 
What mighty prince from his high throne 
Would not descend? 
So I crave nor crown nor gold, 
Longed-for One, I her would hold 
Till time shall end. 
RAPHAEL PATKANIAN, 


DAVID OF SASSUN 
NATIONAL Epos or ARMENIA 


[Translated by F. B. Collins, B.S.] 


DAVID OF SASSUN 


TRONG and mighty was the Caliph of Bagdad;* he 

gathered together a host and marched against our 

Holy John the Baptist.2 Hard he oppressed our peo- 

ple, and led many into captivity. Among the captives was 

a beautiful maiden, and the caliph made her his wife. In time 

she bore two sons, Sanassar and Abamelik. The father of 

these children was a heathen, but their mother was a wor- 

shipper of the cross,* for the caliph had taken her from our 
people. 

This same caliph again gathered together a host and fell 
upon our people. This time—I bow before thy holy miracle, 
O sainted John—this time our people pressed him sorely, and 
in his affliction he cried unto his idols: ‘“ May the gods save 
me from these people; bring me to my city safe and well, and 
both my sons will I sacrifice unto them.” 

In Bagdad the mother lay sleeping, and she had a dream. 
She dreamed she had in each hand a lamp, and when their 
flames seemed ready to go out they flashed up brightly again. 
When morning came she told this dream to her sons, and said: 
“Last night holy St. John appeared to me in my dreams and 
said that your father was in great trouble and had vowed to 
sacrifice you. When he again comes home he will stab you: 
look to your safety.” 

Both sons cried unto their gods, took food with them for 
their journey, put gold into their purses, and set out on their 


1 From the sense and according to the nator during the fourth century, on the 


time in which the action takes place, mountain of Kark, near the Euphrates, 
Nineveh must be understood here; and on a spot where heathen altars had pre- 
instead of an Arabian caliph, the As- viously stood. On certain days pious 
syrian king Sennacherib. There is an Armenians made annual pilgrimages to 
anachronism here, as the reader will see, the place. Among them many poets 
for a king living 800 years before Christ and champions, who, with long fasts 


is called an Arabian caliph, though the and many prayers, begged from the 
caliphs first took up their residence in saint the gifts of song, strength, and 


Bagdad in the year 755. courage. John the Baptist was regard- 
2 The reference here is to the famous ed by the Armenians generally as the 

monastery of St. anna the Baptist, protector of the arts. 

which was built by Gregory the [llumi- * So the Armenians called Christians. 


57 


58 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


travels. Coming to a narrow valley they halted there. They 
saw a river, and in the distance a brook clove the river to mid- 
stream, then mingled with its waters and flowed onward 
with it. 

And Sanassar said to Abamelik: ‘“ He who finds the source 
of this brook and builds him a dwelling there, his race shall 
also wax mighty.” 

The brothers rose with one will and followed the brook up- 
stream. They found its spring and saw its waters flowing as 
from a small pipe, and they ran down with the brook and in- 
creased till they mixed with waters of the great river. Here 
the brothers halted and laid the foundations of their dwelling. 

And Sanassar hunted while Abamelik worked on the 
house. Ten, yea, twenty days they worked on their dwelling. 
It happened that once Abamelik came upon Sanassar asleep, 
worn out with fatigue, his venison thrown away unroasted. 
Abamelik was much troubled at this, and said, “ Rise, brother, 
and we will depart from this place. How long shall we stay 
here and eat meat without salt? If it were God’s will that we 
should have happiness, in our father’s wooden palace we 
should have found it.” And they mounted their horses and 
rode to the Lord of Arsrom.* Both came thither, presented 
themselves to him, and bowed before him. 

Now both brothers were mighty men. They found favor 
with the Emir of Arsrom, and he asked them of their birth 
and of their tribe, and said, “‘ What manner of men are you?”’ 

Sanassar answered and said, “ We are the sons of the Caliph 
of Bagdad.” 

“ Hoho!” said the Emir, while terror seized him. ‘‘ We 
feared you dead, and here we meet you living. We cannot 
take you in. Go whither ye will.” 

And Sanassar said to Abamelik, “ Since we have run away 
from our father, why should we bear his name? From this 
day, when anyone asks us concerning ourselves, let us say we 
have neither father nor mother nor home nor country: then 
will people lodge us.” 


The original name of this city is captured by the Sultan of Ikonika, 
Theodosiopol. It was founded by the who named it Arsi-Rom, ‘* Land of the 
Greek commander Anato in the year Greeks.”” The Armenians call it Karin, 
412 A.D. and named in honor of Em- after the old Armenian province in 
peror Theodosius I]. Later it was which it lies. 


DAVID OF SASSUN 59 


Thence they rode to the Emir of Kars, who gave the lads 
the same answer. They turned and rode to the King of Kra- 
put-Koch. The King of Kraput-Koch scrutinized the lads, 
and they found favor in his sight; and Abamelik presented 
himself to the King and bowed low before him. This pleased 
the King greatly, and he said: “‘ My children, whither came 
ye? What have you? and what do you lack?” ® 

“We have neither father nor mother nor anyone beside,” 
answered the brothers. 

And it came to pass that Sanassar became the King’s 
tschubuktschi ® and Abamelik his haizwatschi,’ and they lived at 
the King’s house a long time. 

But Sanassar said one day to Abamelik: “ We fatigued our- 
selves greatly with labor, yet was our house not finished. To- 
morrow make the King no coffee, nor will I hand him his 
pipe. Let us not appear before him to-morrow.” 

When the King awoke, neither of them was near. He 
called the lads to him and said: “I asked you once if you had 
anyone belonging to you, either father or mother; and you 
said you had no one. Why, then, are you so sad?”’ 

And the brothers said: “ Live long, O King! In truth, we 
have neither father nor mother. Even if we hide it from you 
we cannot hide it from God. We worked a little on a dwell- 
ing, but left the work unfinished and came away.” And they 
told the King everything as it was. 

The heart of the King was grieved, and he said: “ My chil- 
dren, if such is the case, to-morrow I will give you some court 
servants. Go and finish your house.” 

Then the King arose and gave them forty servants, skilful 
workers, and each had a mule and a bridle. 

Early in the morning they arose and loaded the beasts with 
their tools, and the two brothers led them to the dwelling. 
They travelled on and at last reached the spring and the 
threshold of their house. 

Now Sanassar said to Abamelik: “ Brother, shall we build 
the house first or the huts for the servants? These poor 
wretches cannot camp out in the sun.” 

5 Southwest from the Sea of Wan lies Syrian princes. Perhaps the legend has 


a high mountain called Kraput-Koch reserved in the person of the King of 
(“ Blue Ridge,” from its blue color). raput-Koch the memory of the Ar- 
Probably there was a dukedom or king- menian pee Skajordi. 

dom of Kraput-Koch which served as 6 Pipe-bearer. 


a city of refuge for the wandering As- 7 The servant who prepares the coffee. 


60 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


And they began first to make the huts. So strong was 
Abamelik that he built ten huts every day, while the others 
brought in wood for their building. In four days they finished 
forty huts, and then they set about building the house and 
finished it. They set up stone pillars in rows—so powerful 
were they—and laid a stone base under them, and the house 
was made ready. 

Abamelik rode to the King of Kraput-Koch and said: “ We 
are thy children. We have built our castle: it is finished, and 
we come to you and entreat you, ‘Come and give our dwell- 
ing a name.’ It pleased the King of Kraput-Koch that 
Abamelik had done this, and he said: “I rejoice that you 
have not forgotten me.” 

So the King gave Abamelik his daughter in marriage and 
made him his close friend. After the wedding the King and 
the young pair came together at the palace—and Uncle 
Toross ® was with them—and they mounted their horses and 
departed. Abamelik rode before them to point out the way. 
When they were approaching the castle the King suddenly 
turned his horse as if to ride back again, and said: “ You 
have given your castle a name and have purposely brought 
me here to try me.” 

Abamelik said: “ May your life be long, O master! Be- 
lieve me, we have given the castle no name. We have but 
built it and made it ready.” 

“Very well. It may be that you have given it no name, but 
as you have set up rows of stone pillars let us call it Sausun or 
Sassun.” ® 

Here they remained several days. Uncle Toross was also 
married and stayed at Sassun, but the King returned home. 

And Abamelik was strong and became a mighty man. 
From the environs of the Black Mountain and the Peak of 
Zetzinak, from Upper Musch as far as Sechanssar and the 
Plains of Tschapachtschur,’® he reigned, and built a wall 
around his dominions. He made four gates. Often he shut 


8 Probably Le Le ie brother. their independence to their inaccessible 
oi Sassun ” “pillar upon dwelling-place. 
pillar.”” This Se nine, the origin of the 10 The names cited here exist to the 


name of Sassun, a district of the old present day. The places lie in the old 
Armenian province Achznik, south of districts of the Turuberan and Achznik 
the city of Musch. The residents of in the present district Musch. 

this district up to the present day owe 


DAVID OF SASSUN 61 


his doors, mounted his horse, and captured whatever came 
in his way, both demons and beasts of prey. Once he 
penetrated into Mosr and ravaged it, and he went in to the 
wife of the Lord of Mosr and lay with her. She bore a son, 
and the King of Mosr knew that the boy was Abamelik’s and 
named him Mosramelik. But afterward Abamelik slew the 
King and took his wife and became King of Mosr.? 


Now Sanassar dwelt at Sassun, but the gods of his fathers 
gave him no repose, so he travelled to Bagdad to the home of 
his father and mother. His father, sitting at his window, saw 
his son Sanassar come riding up, and recognized him, and the 
caliph said: “ My life to thee, great god! Thou hast brought 
back thy victim. Certainly in thy might thou wilt restore the 
second soon.” 

The mother—she was a Christian—began to weep and shed 
tears over her children. The father took a sharp sword and 
went out to meet his son, saying: “‘ Come, my son, let us 
worship the great god in his temple. I must sacrifice to him.” 

The son said, “ Dear father, your god is great and very won- 
derful. Truly in the night he permits us no rest. Certainly 
he will bring the second victim to you by force.” 

And they went into the temple of the god, and the son said: 
“Father dear, you know that we left your house when we were 
yet children, and we knew not the might of your god.” 

“Yes, yes, my son, but kneel before him and pray.” 

The son said: ‘‘ What a wonderful god your god is! When 
you bowed before your god, there was a darkness before my 
eyes and I did not see how you did it. Bow once more before 
him, that I may learn to worship him.” 

When the father did the second time the son cried: “ Bread 
and wine, the Lord liveth!” and seized his club and hurled 
the caliph full seven yards distant to the ground. And with 
his club he shattered all the images where they stood, put the 
silver in the skirts of his robe and carried it to his mother, say- 
ing: “Take this, mother, and wear it for ornament!”’ 

His mother fell full length and bowed herself and said: “I 
thank thee, Creator of heaven and earth. It is well that thou 
hast rescued me from the hands of this cruel man.” 

1 The Armenians now call Egypt Mosr. This probably refers to Mossul. 


62 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


They found Sanassar a wife and placed him on the throne in 
his father’s place, and he remained at Bagdad.’ 

Now Abamelik, who reigned in Mosr, left his son Mosra- 
melik to rule in his stead and went to Sassun. Many years 
passed and children were born to him. To one he gave the 
name Tschentschchapokrik. The eldest son he named Zora- 
wegi, the second Zenow-Owan; while the third son was called 
Chor-Hussan.° and the youngest David. 

Of these, Tschentschchapokrik and Z6ranwegi proved to 
be ne’er-do-weels. Zenow-Owan had such a voice that he 
dried seven buffalo hides in the sun and wound them round 
his body so that it should not rend him. But the cleverest of 
all was David, and to his strength words cannot do justice. 

Abamelik’s life was long, but old age came upon him. Once 
he sat sunk in thought and said to himself: “ Enemies are 
all about me. Who will care for my children after my death? 
Mosramelik alone can do this, for none beside him can cope 
with my enemies.” 

He set out to visit Mosramelik,* but he was very aged. 
“Mosramelik, my son,” he said, “ you are truly of my blood. 
If I die before you, I intrust my children to you. Take care 
of them. If you die first, confide yours to me and I will watch 
over them.” 

He returned and lived in his castle. His time came and he 
died. Then Mosramelik came and took the children to his 
house, for he had not forgotten his father’s command. Sas- 
sun mourned the death of Abamelik for seven years. Then the 
peasants feasted and drank again with Uncle Toross, for they 
said: “ Uncle Toross, our lads have grown old and our pretty 
girls are old women. If thou thinkest that by our seven years 
of weeping Abamelik will live again we would weep seven 
years longer.” Uncle Toross gave the peasants their way, 
and said: “ Marry your lads and maidens. Weeping leads 
nowhere.” __ 

And they sat down and feasted and drank wine. Uncle 


3 Here the story of Sanassar breaks ously-speaking John ’’; “ Chor-Hussan ” 
off and he is not mentioned again in means “ good singer’; ‘ Tchentsch- 
the tale. chapokrik’”’ means ‘sparrow’; and 

* All these names are poetic and refer “* Zoranwegi,” “* cowardly Wegi.” 
to certain characteristics of their bear- *To Mossul. 


ers. ‘* Zenow-Owan ”? means “ melodi- 


DAVID OF SASSUN 63 


Toross took a cup in his hand and paused: he was thinking 
about something, and he neither drank nor set the cup down. 
His son cries from the street: “ Father, dear, there are the 
mad men of Sassun. Take care, they will be jeering at you. 
Let us go away.” 

Uncle Toross turned to his son and said: “Oh, you dog 
of a son! Shall I sit here and feast? Did not Mosramelik 
come and take our children away? Abamelik’s children in 
trouble, and I sitting at a banquet? Oh, what a shame it is! 
Bread and wine, God be praised! Truly, I will drink no wine 
till I have fetched the little ones.” And Uncle Toross went 
out of Sassun and came to Mosr. He greeted Mosramelik, 
and they sat down together. Said Uncle Toross: ‘‘ Now, we 
are come for God’s judgment. It i: true that you madé an 
agreement with Abamelik, but if a man sells a captive he 
should first wait on the lord.’ > 

They arose and went to the court,®* and Uncle Toross was 
given the children. 

But Mosramelik stood in fear of these children, and he said 
to Uncle Toross, “‘ Let these children first pass under my 
sword, and then take them with you.” 

Uncle Toross told the lads of this, and Zoranwegi said, 
“Let us pass under his sword and escape hence”; and the 
other two said the same. But David said otherwise: “If he 
wishes us dead he will not kill us to-day, for the people will 
say he has murdered the children. Under his sword I will 
not go. He does this so that I shall not lift my sword against 
him when Iama man.” Uncle Toross got the boys together, 
that they might pass under the sword of Mosramelik, for he 
was very anxious. David was rebellious; he stood still and 
went not under it. Uncle Toross seized his collar and pushed 
him, but David would not go. He ran past it at one side and 
kicked with his great toe upon a flint until the sparks flew. 
And Mosramelik was frightened and said: ‘ This child is still 
so young and yet is terrible. What will happen when he is a 
man! If any evil comes to me it will be through him.” 

Uncle Toross took the children and came to Sassun. Zo6ran- 

* This means that if a captive is to be ® Schariat, the name of the Turkish 


sold his kinsmen have a right before court of justice, stands in the original. 
all others to redeem him. 


64 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


wegi he established in the castle in his father’s place, but 
David, who was the youngest, was sent out to herd the calves. 


What a boy David was! If he struck out at the calves with 
his oaken stick, he would throw them all down, and forty 
others beside. Once he drove the calves to the top of the 
mountain. He found a herdsman there who was abusing his 
calves, and said: “ You fellow! What are you up to? Wait 
now, if I catch you, you will get something from my oaken 
stick that will make you cry Ow! ow!” 

The fellow answered David: “I am ready to give my 
life for your head if I am not a shepherd from your father’s 
village. These calves, here, belong to the peasants.” 

David said, “If that is so, watch my calves also. I know 
not what time I should drive them home. When the time 
comes tell me, that I may drive them in.” 

Then David drove in the calves on time that day, and Uncle 
Toross was pleased and said: “ Always be punctual, my son; 
go out and come back every day at the right time.” 

“ Uncle Toross, it was not my wisdom that did this. I have 
hired a comrade who will watch over my calves and see that I 
am ready with them.” 

Once his comrade tarried, and David was greatly vexed. 
It appeared that a religious festival was held in the village, 
and on this account the young man was detained. Finally he 
arrived, and David said to him, “ To-day you get nothing 
from me.” 

The young man said: “ David, I am willing to die for you. 
From fear of your anger, I waited not for the end of the ser- 
vice of God in the church, and not one spoonful of the holy 
soup* has passed my lips. I drove out the calves and am 
here. Now you know why [I tarried.” 

David said: “ Wait here; I will bring you your dinner.” 

He set off with his oaken stick over his shoulder. He came 
to the village, and found that all the people had brought corn 
to the priests, who blessed it. David stuck his oaken stick 


7 Although the Armenians became 


Alt! I been given some salt consecrated by 
Christians in the fourth century, they i in i 


the priests. The meat is cooked in im- 


still retain many heathen customs which 
have lost all their original significance. 
They still sacrifice sheep and cows 
which have on the previous evening 


mense kettles and carried around to the 
houses. The shepherd speaks of soup 
of this kind. 


DAVID OF SASSUN 65 


through the handle of the four-handled kettle, and, full as it 
was, lifted it to his shoulder and walked away. The priests 
and the peasants wondered at it, and one cried, “ Truly, he has 
carried off a kettle!” 

A priest cried out, “ For God’s sake, be silent! It is one 
of those mad men of Sassun. Take care or he will come back 
and break our ribs for us. May he take the thing and fall 
down with it!” 

And David took the kettle of grits to his comrade, whom he 
found weeping on the mountain. 

“Ha, ha,” said David, “I know why you weep. I have 
brought the grits, but have forgotten butter and salt. That is 
why you weep. Eat the grits now, and have salt and butter 
this evening.”’ 

But the youth said, “ David, I am ready to die for you. 
What need have I of salt and butter; forty thieving Dews have 
come and driven away our calves.” 

David said, “ Stay here and watch these calves, and I will 
bring back all the others ”; and he went after the calves. He 
followed their tracks to the entrance of a cave and paused. 
He cried out with so loud a voice that the Dews were fright- 
ened, and were as full of fear as is the devil when Christ’s voice 
is heard in hell. 

And when the leader of the Dews heard the voice he said: 
“That is surely David, Abamelik’s son. Go receive him with 
honor, else he will strike us dead.” 

They went out, one by one, and David struck each as he 
passed with his oaken cudgel, so that their heads fell off and 
only dead bodies remained in the place. He cut off the ears 
of all the forty and buried them under a stone at the mouth of 
the cave. 

He faid down his club and entered the cave. There he saw 
a heap of gold and a heap of silver—indeed, all the treasures 
of the world. Since his father’s death they had robbed and 
concealed their plunder in this cavern. He opened a door, 
and saw a steed standing fastened to a ring. David was sunk 
in thought, and said to himself: “ Uncle dear, this property 
belongs to you, but this beast to me. If you give it to me— 
good. If not, you travel after those other fellows.” Then he 

5 


66 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


answered for Uncle Toross: “ My child, the treasure and the 
beast should belong to you. What shall I do with them?” 

He looked around and saw upon a pyre a copper kettle with 
four handles, and in it were his forty calves. He stuck his 
oaken stick through the handles and raised the kettle, poured 
off the water, pushed the calves’ feet back into the kettle, 
lifted it to his shoulder, and went back to his comrade. 

The two drove the rest of the herd into the village, and 
David called the owners to him and said: “ If you deceive my 
brother a hair’s breadth in the reckoning it will go badly with 
you. Sell this kettle. May it repay you for your calves.” 

He separated his own calves from the peasants’, and went 
home. It was then midday. He said to Uncle Toross: “ Take 
quickly twenty asses and we will go out and bring back treas- 
ure that shall suffice you and your children till the seventh 
generation.” 

And they took the asses and set forth. When they reached 
the cavern, Uncle Toross saw the bodies of the Dews stretched 
near the entrance, and they were swelled up like hills. In 
great fright Uncle Toross loosed his ass from the others and 
fell back. 

David said: ‘ You destroyer! I fled not before them living, 
but you fear them dead! If you believe me not, turn back and 
taise this stone. I concealed all their ears there.” 

Uncle Toross came back and took the asses, and they went 
into the cave. They made a pack of all the treasure and car- 
ried it away with them. David said: “ All this treasure be- 
longs to you, but the steed is mine. If you will not give it to 
me, you shall follow after them.” 

He answered: “ My child, the horse and the treasure too 
are yours. What should I do with it?” 

Uncle Toross let David mount the steed. He gave him the 
spurs and he bucked to right and left. This was no ordinary 
steed—the difficulties of managing him cannot be described. 

They returned to Sassun with the treasure. David procured 
a beautiful falcon and rode off to hunt. The calves he had 
long ago given over. 

Once, as he hunted, he rode across the soil of a poor man, 
whose family numbered seven heads, and the man had seven 
beds of millet. Four beds he laid waste, and three remained. 


DAVID OF SASSUN 67 


Someone ran with the news to the old graybeard and said: 
“You are ruined. Go at once to your field, for before night 
he will destroy the other three beds.” 

The graybeard rose early and went out and saw his field 
was laid waste. He glanced about and saw David coming 
with a falcon on his hand. The graybeard cursed David and 
said: “ Dost thou not fear God? Dost thou test thy strength 
on my grain-field? I have seven mouths to fill, and seven 
millet beds. Four thou hast destroyed, and three remain! If 
you are brave, go and get back your inheritance that extends 
from the summit of Mount Z6zmak as far as Sechanssar. 
Mosramelik has taken it from you and draws wealth from it. 
Go and get it back. Why try your strength on me?” 

But David answered: “ Old man, curse me not. Here is a 
handful of gold—use it.” And as he said it he killed his fal- 
con. 

David returned home and said: “ Uncle Toross, go and 
bring me my father’s staff and bow. I am going to make war, 
for others consume my inheritance and none of you have said 
anything about it to me.” 

Uncle Toross arose and demanded of Zoranwegi in David’s 
name the staff and bow of Abamelik, but Zoranwegi refused 
it. David sent a second time, saying: “If you give it to me, 
good. If not, I will see to it that your head flies off and only 
your body remains.” 

Zoranwegi was frightened, and surrendered the bow and 
baton, and Uncle Toross brought them to David. And David 
fell asleep and dreamed. The next day he took forty calves 
and went to holy Maratuk,® where he slaughtered the forty 
calves and bathed in their blood. Then he fell on his face and 
prayed and wept until God sent from heaven a sacred sign and 
a token. Even now the holy sign is to be found in Hawar 
at the house of Sork. David kissed the holy sign and put it 
under the right shoulder, and the token under the left. 


Mosramelik knew that David, Abamelik’s son, was come 
into manhood, and he gathered together a host to march 
against him. And he appointed a holbasch,® who prepared 


8 Maratuk is a monastery built on a *This Turkish title shows that the 
mountain of the same name. legend has been altered at a late date. 


63 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


his army and attacked David at Maratuk. He met on the 
march seven women, and said to them, “ Sing and dance until 
I return,” and they answered: ‘‘ Why shall we dance and sing? 
We know not what we should say.” 

And Holbaschi sang for them: 


‘May the little women busy themselves grinding corn ; 
May the stout women help with the camel-loading ; 
For Holbaschi carries grim war to Sassun. 

Strong yoke-oxen and red milch-cows he'll bring back 
In the springtime; butter and Tochorton 
Will be plentiful in the Land of Mésr.” 


Holbaschi saw the women begin dancing and singing, and 
started his host again and went to Maratuk and entered its 
gates. The daughter of the priest of Maratuk had often 
glanced slyly at David, and he was not indifferent to her. 
The priest’s daughter went to David and said: “ David, I am 
ready to die for you! Arise and see how many warriors are 
congregated in the courtyard.” 

When she had spoken she went out and closed all the gates 
from without. David stretched himself and cried: “ Bread 
and wine, the Lord liveth!” and began to knock off the 
heads of the men of war. He beheaded them so that the bodies 
flew over the walls and the heads remained lying in the court. 
And he laid hold of Holbaschi, and tore out his teeth and drove 
them into his brow like nails. And he bent his lance till it 
curved like a dog’s collar and put it around his neck. “ Now,” 
he said, “take yourself off and tell all to Mosramelik. If peo- 
ple still remain in his country let him herd them together be- 
fore I come.” 

Holbaschi met the women a second time, and they were 
singing and dancing. And one of them sang: 


‘‘ Holbaschi, dear Holbaschi, went hence like a cruel wolf. | 
Why-come you back to us like a hunting dog ? 
Your lance lies on your neck like a dog’s collar, 
Thy mouth gapes like an open window, 
And slime flows out like curdled milk from a skin ; ?° 
And whole caravans of flies buzz round it.” 


10 In Armenia, as is usual in the East, and for this reason the vessel is always 
they make butter out of curdled milk; covered with scum. 


DAVID OF SASSUN 69 


And Holbaschi sang: 


‘‘Oh, you shameless, worthless hussies, 
I thought that Sassun was a free field. 
Think not that only rocks and clefts opposed me. 
There new-born children are fierce devils, 
Their arrows like beams of the oil-mill ; 
And like windows they tear out the mouths of their enemies, 
All the brave lads who went with me 
Are fallen in Charaman.' 
In the spring its waters will bring you booty, 
Then your butter and cheese can be made.” 


Now David armed himself and marched against Mosra- 
melik. He found a great host assembled and encamped near 
Sechanssar.? 

David said: “I promise thee not to give battle till I have 
eaten rice pillau in the green and red tent,” and he urged his 
horse forward and appeared suddenly from the west in front 
of the tent. Great fright possessed the army when they per- 
ceived this rider, and Melik said, ‘‘ What manner of man art 
thou?” 

“T am the son of a western king, and I have come to help 
you.” 

Melik pitched a tent for him, and they ate together seven 
days. On the eighth day David mounted his horse, rode 
twice before Mosramelik’s tent, and said: “‘ Now, come out, 
I want to fight you. How long, Mosramelik, are you going to 
encroach upon my inheritance?’’ And David cried: “ Bread 
and wine, God lives!” and fighting began on all sides. 

Uncle Toross heard of the combat. He tore up a poplar 
by its roots, threw it across his shoulder, and set out. He 
halted at the upper end of the valley in which the fight was 
going on. If anyone crept away David shouted: “ Dear 
Uncle Toross, chase him back into the valley and I will be 
ready for him!” 

At last the army began to murmur: “ Let them struggle 
hand to hand. He who overpowers the other has conquered.”’ 

Then said one of them. “ Sit down, that I may slay you 
with my club,” and the other said: “ No, you sit down.” At 


2A valley near Musch. 2 Literally, a table-like mountain. 


70 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


last they agreed that David, being the youngest, should sit. 
So he put his shield over his head, laid under it the holy cross, 
and sat down. Mosramelik made an onset from three leagues, 
burst upon him, and assailed him with a club, saying, “ Earth 
thou art, be earth again!” 

David said: “I believe in the high and holy cross of Mara- 
tuk. It is to me as if I were still eating rice pillau under the 
red and green tent.” 

Mosramelik sprung upon him three times, struck him with 
his club, and said: “ Earth thou art, be earth again!” and 
David replied only, “I believe in the high and holy cross of 
Maratuk.”’ 

Then came Mosramelik’s turn to sit down, and he was stub- 
born and would not. But the army reproached him and put 
his shield over his head, and he sat down. Then came Mos- 
ramelik’s mother, and began to ask mercy, saying: “ David, 
I am ready to die for you! Is he not thy brother? Slay him 
not; have pity on him! ” 

“O shameless woman! When he struck me, thou saidst 
not, ‘Is he not thy brother!’ But, may your wish be granted! 
One blow I will give up for God’s sake, the second for your 
sake, but the third belongs to me, and when I strike either he 
dies or lives!” 

David rode back and forward again, and seizing his club 
hurled Mosramelik seven yards deep into the earth. Then he 
ravaged Mosr and ascended the throne. 


The Emir? of Kachiswan had a daughter, and her name 
was Chandud-Chanum.* Chandud-Chanum heard of David’s 
valor, and gave gifts to a bard and said to him: “Go, sing 
to David of my beauty, that he may come hither and we may 
love each other.” 

The bard went to Sassun, for he thought David was there. 
He came to Sassun and entered Zoranwegi’s castle, thinking 
David livedin it, and sat down and began to sing to Zoran- 
wegi. Zoranwegi cried: “ Go. Club him and hunt him forth. 
He thinks to bring David hither by cunning!” 

They set upon the singer, dragged him to the valley, and 


8“ Emir,” in the eyes of the orientals, ee Chandud fete | woman’ s name. 
is almost the same as “ kin ng.’ * Chanum ” means “ lady. 


DAVID OF SASSUN 71 


threw him .nto the road. In the evening the shepherds re- 
turned on their oxen to the village. An ox became wild, and 
the herdsman fell off, and seeking the cause he found the bard, 
who wept and lamented and asked the herdsman: 

“ Which of the brothers lives in that castle? ” 

The shepherd answered: “ Here lives Zoranwegi; yonder, 
in Mosr, David.” 

And the bard gave a piece of gold to the shepherds, and 
they gathered up the pieces of his broken tambur® and 
pointed out his way to him. He went and sang of Chandud- 
Chanum’s beauty before David. David rewarded him richly, 
and said, “ Go before, I will come,” and the singer went and 
told all to Chandud-Chanum.® 

David departed straightway and went by way of Sassun 
and the Heights of Zozmak. He found a plough” standing 
in his way. He freed the oxen, seized the plough-chain, 
mounted his horse, and dragged the plough down. And it 
fell from the summit of the Black Mountain plump into the 
aqueduct of the village of Marnik. 

He drew on and perceived that a buffalo had got loose and 
run along the road and left its dung there. David looked 
at the dung and said: “If evil befalls me he is guilty of it 
who left the dung there; if not, it is also his work that it be- 
falls me not.” 

From a side-path appeared a buffalo, and David had never 
seen the like before. He lifted his club to slay him when 
from the opposite side a shepherd came and began to scold 
the buffalo. David thought the shepherd was scolding him 
and said, “ Fellow, what have I done to you that you rail at 
me?” 

The shepherd answered: “ Who are you? Ah, you area 
Sassun brawler who has seen nothing of the world! I spoke 
to my buffalo.” 

“Don’t be angry, youngster! It is a shame, indeed, that 
in my country I have never seen the like. Are there many 
such creatures in these parts?” 

The shepherd said, “‘ Come, and I will show you.” 


5 An instrument like a guitar. : ™The Armenians use, in ploughing, a 
6 The song in which the bard praises kind of plough which is drawn by from 
the beauty of Chandud-Chanum is want- five to ten pairs of buffaloes or oxen. 


ing. A certain carelessness is seen gen- 
erally in the rest of the narrative. 


42 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


And they went to the field of Ausut, where the peasants 
hitched their buffaloes and drove them. David found the 
buffaloes with tongues lolling from the heat as they drew the 
plough. David felt pity for them; he unhitched them and 
drove them to the pond. 

The ploughman began to curse him, and he said: “ Plough- 
man, curse me not; only give me the chain into my hand.” 

He seized the chain and began to draw; the ploughman 
guided the plough and David ploughed nine furrows. Then 
the shepherd said to David: “That is not thy strength. 
Leave thy horse and then draw. We shall see whether it is 
thine or thy horse’s strength.” 

David left his horse and ploughed nine furrows alone. 

The shepherd then said to David: “It is already noon. 
Come now and eat, then thou canst go on thy way!” 

David answered: ‘“ No, I will ride on. Thy children want 
to eat, and if I come nothing will remain for them.” 

However, they sat down and when the dinner was set out 
David crumbled all the bread and the vessels all at once, and 
the shepherd said: “ Here, hide yourselves or he will devour 
us also.”’ 

David said: “Surely, brother, he who drags the plough 
must eat bread. How could it be otherwise?” 

And he went his way to the city where Chandud-Chanum 
dwelt. 


David came to the gates of the castle where Chandud- 
Chanum lived—to the place where all her suitors came to woo. 
He saw a youth standing near the door with a club in his hand. 
David said: “ Ha, my lad, what do they call you?” 

“My name is Gorgis.” 

“ Gorgis!” said David. “ When I marry Chandud-Chanum 
you shall be godfather! Now, Godfather Gorgis, who is in 
the house?” 

“Matchmakers from the giants—Schibikan of Chorassan 
and Hamsa of Lori.” 

David said, “Take my horse and fasten him.” And he took 
his horse and tied him. 

Then David asked: “ What kind of a club have you? Show 
it me.” 


DAVID OF SASSUN 73 


David took the club and threw it into the air with such 
force that it is whirring till this very day. Then he said, “ God- 
father Gorgis, let us go in and eat and drink.” 

They went in, and David sat down, for he was tired and 
hungry, and every matchmaker, one after the other, handed 
Davida cup of wine. David lost patience and seized the wine- 
pitcher and emptied it in one draught, saying, “ Now say only 
what is well for you! ” 

The wine made David drunk, and when he let his head 
fall the matchmakers drew their swords to strike him, but 
when he raised his head they concealed their swords. They 
began this again when Godfather Gorgis called out: ‘‘ Think © 
not that you are in Georgia! No, this is a dangerous coun- 
try.” And when David heard him he said, “ Now stand 
bravely at the door!” 

The matchmakers sprang up and as they ran each gave 
Gorgis a box on the ear and escaped. David then turned to 
Gorgis and said: ‘“ Where can I see Chandud-Chanum? ” 

“In the garden of the King,’ Gorgis answered. ‘‘ To-day 
is Friday and she will be there. Before her walk twenty slaves, 
and twenty walk behind her. We will go to-day and see her 
there.” 

So Gorgis and David went thither and concealed them- 
selves behind the garden wall and waited. The slaves passed 
by one after another, and, when Chandud-Chanum came, 
David put his arm around her neck and kissed her three times. 
Chandud-Chanum said not a word. He kissed her again. 
Chandud-Chanum seized him by the collar and threw him 
against the wall so that the blood gushed from his nose. 

David was angry and was going to mount his horse. ‘ God- 
father Gorgis,” he said, “lead out my horse. I will destroy 
the city and depart.” : 

Gorgis began to plead: “I pray you, put it off till morn- 
ing. It is dark now. At daybreak arise and destroy the city 
and depart.” 

David lay in bed and could not sleep from anger. “ Would 
it were dawn that I might rise and destroy the city and get 
away from here,” he thought to himself. 

Chandud-Chanum was still walking in the garden. A lame 
slave came to herand said: “ Thy walk willend sadly. Take 
care, David is going to destroy the city and depart.” 


74 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


She took the cloth in which her evening meal had been 
brought, and wrapped her head in it. She turned and went 
straightway into the castle where David was and knocked at 
his door. 

David said: ‘‘ What insolent people live here! They will 
not wait till morning, but say, ‘ Arise, destroy the city and 
be offli 

Gorgis arose and looked out of the window and said, “ These 
are women, not men,” and they opened the door. 

Chandud-Chanum came to David and said: ‘“ You kissed 
me first for the fatigue of your journey, a second time for 
yourself, and a third time for God’s sake. Why did you kiss 
mea fourth time? You are the son of your father and I am 
the daughter of mine. It has been said: Take to yourself a 
wife that you may have a son who is like his uncle. Do you 
think you have brought me the heads of the giants Hamsa 
of Lori and Schibikan of Chorassan, that you kiss me a fourth 
time?” 

David’s heart softened and he said: “If that is so I will 
go out at daybreak and bring you their heads.” Then he 
added: “ Very well, I go; if they are stronger than I they 
will kill me. For God’s sake come and seek my body. On 
the right hand I have a birth-mark—a cross—by that you shall 
know me. Bring my body back and bury it.” 

So David set out. The giants perceived a rider coming, 
for the dust from his horse’s hoofs rose to heaven: ‘“ This 
rider comes to fight with us. Perhaps he is of the race of 
Sere. 

They called to him, saying: “ Ho, fellow! who are you, 
and whence come you? Do you know Chandud-Chanum? 
Will you take this ring to her?” 

David said: “ Certainly I know her, but I have come to 
take your heads to the Princess Chandud. I know nothing 
about your rings!” 

The eyebrows of Schibikan of Chorassan hung down over 
his breast and he fastened them across his back. Hamsa of 
Lori had an underlip so long that it reached the ground and 
swept it. 

8Sergo-Sarkus (Sergius) so the Kurds popular among the Armenians of Wan 


called the Christians, regarding them as and Musch. 
descendants of St. Sergius, who is very 


DAVID OF SASSUN 75 


David and the giants began to hack and hew each other 
and they fought with clubs and bows until night. David cried: 
“I believe in the high and holy cross of Maratuk,’”’ and took 
his sword and cut both their heads off. He bound their hair 
together and hung them across his horse like saddle bags and 
their tongues furrowed the ground like a plough. 

David rode away with their heads and had already traversed 
half the way when he saw approaching him, riding between 
heaven and earth, a rider, who called out to him! ‘“ Do you 
think you have conquered the giants Schibikan and Hamsa?”’ 
The rider sprang behind David and struck at him with a club. 
He crawled under the saddle and the club struck the stirrup 
and tore it loose, and it fell to the ground. David sprang out 
from under the saddle and cried: ‘“ Bread and wine, as the 
Lord liveth!” and swung his club over hisenemy. The enemy 
dodged the blow, but his hair fell away from his face. David 
looked and recognized Chandud-Chanum; she had disguised 
herself and had come to meet him. 

“O shameless woman!” David said. ‘“ You would dis- 
grace me a second time.” 

They rode together into Chandud-Chanum’s city. They 
arrived and dismounted and called Chandud-Chanum’s father. 
David said to him: “ Will you give me your daughter for a 
wife?” 

Her father said: “I will not give her to you. If you will 
marry her and live here, I will give her to you. If you must 
take her away, I will not give her. How can I do otherwise? 
I have enemies all around me; they will destroy my city.” 

And David said: “I will marry her and stay here. I will 
not take her away.” 

So they were married and celebrated the wedding, feasting 
seven days and seven nights. 

The time passed by unheeded, and when nine months, nine 
days and nine hours had passed, God sent them a son. 

And David said to Chandud-Chanum: “If this child is 
mine, he must have a mark—he will show great strength.” 
They put the child in swaddling-clothes, but instead of bands 
they bound him with plough-chains. He began to cry and 
stir in his cradle and the chain snapped into pieces. 

They sent word to David: “The youngster is a stout fel- 


76 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


low. He has broken the chains. But one of his hands seems 
hurt. He clenches his fist, and no one can open it.” 

David came and sat down, looked at the hand and opened 
it. Inthe hand he found a little lump of clotted blood. ‘‘ The 
whole world is to him as a drop of blood, and he will hold it 
in his hand. If he lives he will do wonderful deeds.” 

Then they christened the boy and gave him the name of 
Mcher. 

Time passed and the boy grew fast, and David left him in 
Kachiswan with his grandparents, and took Chandud-Chanum 
with him to Sassun. The men of Chlat ® heard David’s com- 
ing and they assembled an army, built a rampart, formed their 
wagons into a fortress, and began to give battle. When 
Chandud-Chanum sent her lance against the wall she shat- 
tered it and the wagons flew seven leagues away. Then David 
went forward and drove the fighters away, saying to them: 
“Ye men of Chlat! what shameless people ye be! Ye wage 
war on women! Let me but take my wife to Sassun and I 
will come back, and we will fight it out. 

But the men of Chlat believed him not. ‘“ Swear to us by 
the holy cross you carry; then we will believe you,” said they. 

David touched the token with his hand as he thought, but 
the cross was there and he knew it not, and the power of the 
cross was that no one could swear by it. 

He took Chandud-Chanum to Sassun. Here he first knew 
that he had sworn on the cross, for he found the cross lying 
at his left shoulder where the token had been. 

“ Now it will go badly with me,” said David. ‘‘ Whether I 
go or whether I stay, it will go badly with me. And I must 


99 


go. 
He advanced, therefore, to give battle, and the men of 
Chlat pressed him sorely. His horse was caught in the reedy 
marsh of Tschechur.t° With difficulty he crawled out of the 
bog and reached the waters of the Lochur.* 
Once Abamelik had lingered at the house of Ibraham Aga, 
and forcibly entered the sleeping-room of his wife. Her name 


®The city of Chlat (Turkish by David’s father and wished to avenge 
** Achlat ’’) lies northwest of the Sea of themselves. 
Wan. In olden times it was famous for 10 A marsh at the outlet of the Kara- 
its splendor, its high walls, and its cita- Su, a tributary of the Euphrates. 
del. The inhabitants had been injured 1A small river which empties into 
the Sea of Wan not far from Chlat. 


DAVID OF SASSUN "7 


was Schemschen-Chanum. She had borne a daughter to 
Abamelik, who was now an ardent Mahometan. This daugh- 
ter took up her bow and arrows and concealed herself on the 
sloping river-bank. When David bathed in the waters of 
Locher she shot him, assassin-like, with an arrow in the back. 
David arose and made a great outcry and his voice sounded 
even up to Sassun. ZOnow-Owan, Chorassan, Uncle Toross, 
Tschontschchapokrik, and Zoranwegi came together, for they 
heard the voice of David. And Zonow-Owan called to him 
from Sassun, “ We are coming.” 

And they went forth to help David, who heard in the water 
_ the voice of his kinsmen. They came to the river and found 
David, who said: “ Zonow-Owan, she seemed frightened at 
our calling. Go and find her.” 

And they sought and found the blue-eyed maiden. David 
seized her by one foot, trod on the other, tore her in 
pieces, and threw her into the village at the foot of the 
mountain. From this deed he named the village Tschiwtis- 
Tschapkis.?. The village lies at the mouth of the Tschechur 
and is called Tschapkis to this day. 

The brothers took David with them and moved on to Sas- 
sun. And after four days David died, and his brothers 
mourned for him. They went to Chandud-Chanum to con- 
sole her and wish her long life; but Chandud-Chanum said, 
“Ah, me, after David’s death I am but the subject of your 
scorn.” 

And Tschontschchapokrik said: ‘“ Chandud-Chanum, weep 
not, weep not. David is dead, but my head is still whole.” 

Chandud-Chanum climbed the tower and threw herself 
down. Her head struck a stone and made a hole in it, and 
into this hole the men of Sassun pour millet and grind as the 
people of Mosr do; and every traveller from Mosr stops there 
before the castle to see the stone. 

The brothers came to see the body of Chandud-Chanum, 
and they pressed on her breasts and milk flowed therefrom. 
They said: “Surely she has a child! If there is a child it 
must be in Kachiswan.”* And they set out for Kachiswan 
and said to the governor: “A child of our brother and sister- 
in-law lives here. Where is it?” 


3 Literally, “I will tear in pieces and 3 The small city of Kagisman, not far 
scatter.” from Kars. 


78 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


“Tt is not here.” 

“We have a sign. In the breast of our sister-in-law was 
milk.” 

Then the governor said: “She had a daughter, but it is 
dead.” 

“We have atest for that also—for our dead. The grave of 
one dead one year is one step long, of one dead two years, 
two steps long, and so on.” 

They went to the church-yard and found not a single grave 
which stood their test. 

Zonow-Owan said: “ Bind leather bands about me. I will 
ery out./ 

The truth was, they had dug a cellar for Mcher under- 
ground, and hid him there and watched over him. 

The brothers bound Zonow-Owan about the body and he 
cried out. Mcher knew his voice and would have gone to 
him, but his grandmother said to him: “ That is not the voice 
of thy kinsman. It is the noise of children and the beating 
of drums.” 

When Mcher heard the voice for the third time he beat 
down the door and went out. One door destroyed the other. 
By a blow of his fist he sent the first door against the second, 
the second against the third, and so all seven doors were 
shattered. 

Mcher saw his uncles from afar, but his father was not 
there. He asked, and his uncle told him the men of Chlat had 
slain his father. He fell upon his face and wept, and as he 
lay there his uncles wished to lift him, but exert themselves 
as they would they could not move him. 

The tears of Mcher furrowed the earth and flowed like a 
river. After three days he arose, mounted his father’s horse, 
and rode to Chlat. He circled the town and destroyed it—as 
it is even to this day. Then he ascended the mountain 
Memrut * and saw the smoke of the ruins grow ever denser. 
Only one old woman remained alive. He seized her, and, 
bending two trees down, bound her feet to the trees and let 
them loose. And thus he killed her. Since then no smoke 
ascends from Chlat. 

*A high mountain not far from Chlat the ancestor of the Armenian Nimrod, 


northwest of the Sea of Wan. Many is said to be buried here. 
interesting legends about it exist. Haik, 


DAVID OF SASSUN 79 


Mcher permitted his uncles to return to their own dwelling- 
places and himself rode toward Tosp. 

Men say he is still there, and they show his house, and even 
now water flows from the rocks for his horse. 

On Ascension-night the door of Mcher’s rock opens. But 
it is decreed that he shall not go out: the Hoor holds him not, 
his feet sink into the earth. 

Once on Ascension-night a shepherd saw Mcher’s door 
open, and the shepherd entered. Mcher asked him: “ By 
what occupation do you live?” 

“ By brains,” said the shepherd. 

Then Mcher said: ‘“ We shall see what kind of brains you 
have! Take the nose-bag of my horse and hang it around 
his neck.” 

The shepherd tried with all his might, but could not lift the 
bag. He led the horse to the bag, opened it, and put the straps 
around the horse’s neck. The horse raised his head and lifted 
the bag. The shepherd led him back to his place and said, 
“That is the sort of brains by which we live in the world.” 

Then the shepherd said, ‘‘ Mcher, when will you leave this 
place?” 

Mcher answered: ‘ When plum-trees bear wheat and wild- 
rose bushes barley, it is appointed I shall leave this place.” 

And three apples fell down from heaven—one for the story- 
teller, one for the hearer, and the other for the whole world. 


ss 
S 


‘ gt 
: uy Ah 
‘ it Nin 
iy PG 
Wy cn 
. , ‘ ‘i a 


, eh 


ANTS 
POU Ah ty Kee 
ASN AN Ty 
ANNAN " 
| ALO IMA a ARNT AORAU RA 
| ) Uy Mi {\ Ban abre tl 


ie. | 
tat 
AM 
] 
\ i 


yi 1 y 
Ay Le ay hi J 
HON CES DLA A ALE ST COLO 
b) Peat yoy st 


THE RUINED FAMILY 


BY 


GABRIEL SUNDUKIANZ 


[Translated by F. B. Collins, B.S.] 


DRAMATIS PERSONAE 


OssEp GULABIANZ, a merchant. 
SALOME, his wife. 
Nato, his daughter. 
CHACHO, Ossep’s aunt. 
GEwo, a merchant, Ossep’s friend. 
ALEXANDER MARMAROW, a young official. 
BARSSEGH LEPROINK, a merchant. 
KHALI, his wife. 
Most, Leproink’s relative. 
MicHo, shop-boy at Leproink’s. 
DartscHo, clerk at Leproink’s. 
MarTHA, Salome’s friend. 
Guests, an executor, his secretary, creditors, witnesses, and 
several servants. 


The scene is Tiflis. The first and third acts take place in 
Ossep’s house, the second in Barssegh’s. 


THE RUINED FAMILY 


ACT | 


Well-furnished room with open door in centre and ante- 
room behind. To the left in foreground a window looking 
out upon a garden. To the right a sofa, in front of which is 
a table. To the left a tachta’ with a ketscha? and several 
mutakas.* A side door. 


Scene I 


Salome. Chacho. 


SALOME [from back of stage]. You’re welcome. Come, 
come, I beg of you. Dear aunt, how can I thank you 
for taking the trouble to come here! 

CHACHO [covered by a tschadra,* enters from the right of the 
ante-chamber|. Good-morning! [Taking off the tscha- 
dra.| Why did you send for me in such haste? 

[Gives one end of the tschadra to Salome. 

SALOME [taking hold of one end of the tschadra]. Dear aunt, 
I am in such a desperate mood that if someone were to 
pierce my heart not a drop of blood would flow. 

[While she is speaking they fold the tschadra. 

CuHacuHo. So it seems that it cannot be managed? 

SALOME. How could it be managed, dear aunt? They insist 
upon having 8,000 rubles. Ossep will not give so much. 
You know what a miser he is! 

Cuacuo. Yes, he is really odd. 

SALOME. But, dear aunt, God would surely not allow an 
affair like this to come to nothing for the sake of 2,000 
rubles. What, am I to let a man of such social position 
and such brilliancy escape me? 


1 Broad, low sofa. A long veil, covering the head and 
2 Carpet. % Long, round pillows. upper part of the body. 


83 


84 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


CuHacuo. Great heaven, how can anyone be so obstinate! 

SALOME. That is just why I begged you to come to us. Speak 
to Ossep about it, and perhaps your words will soften him. 

Cuacuo. I will talk with him; yes, indeed, I will talk to him. 
We cannot neglect a matter of such importance, my child. 
[Lays the tschadra under the tachta covering the ketscha 
and sits down onit.| Great heaven, how sore the pavement 
has made my feet! 

SALOME [seating herself on a chair]. May God reward you, 
dear aunt! May the Holy Mother be a protectress for your 
children as you are now for my Nato. 

CuacHo. Is not Nato my child also? Is she a stranger to 
me? Iam altogether charmed with her beautiful form. 
But where is the child? Is she not at home? 

SALOME. Yes, certainly; she is dressing. You understand, 
dear aunt, how you are to talk to him? Perhaps you will 
succeed with him. They expect the final answer to-day ; 
this morning the young man’s sister was here, and she 
may be here again any minute. 

CuHacuo. Don’t be afraid, dear child. Calm yourself, 
Where is Ossep? What does he think about it? 

SALOME. He is busy, but he will be here directly. He says, 
and insists upon it, that he will allow our daughter to 
marry no one but a business man. 

Cuacuo. He is right, my child; a good business man is worth 
much. Yes; is not one who has money in his pockets 
the best ? 

SALOME. Oh, how you talk! What business man is to be 
compared with Alexander Marmarow! Is there any 
business man worthy to untie his shoe-strings? His 
politeness alone is worth more than ten business men. 
Lately he honored us with a visit, and I was so fascinated 
with his manners! and beside he is still young; is hand- 
some ; is educated ; has a good position and a good salary 
and will advance every day—everybody says so. Perhaps 
some day he will be governor. 

CuacHo. That is all very well, dear Salome; but if the thing 
cannot be done, what then? One must submit, to some 
extent, to the head of the family. A good business man 
never suffers from hunger, and lives without wanting 


THE RUINED FAMILY 85 


anything. I don’t know what has gotten into your heads. 
Officials! always officials! 

SALOME. You speak well, dear aunt, but Nato would not 
marry a business man at any price. I would’ thank God 
if she would. Would I be so stupid as not to be glad of 
it? The deuce take these times! This comes of too 
much study: the girls now mind neither father nor 
mother ! | 

Cuacuo. Yes; how the world has changed! The streams 
and the hills are the same, but the people are different! 
But, by the way, Salome, do you know what I have 
heard? They say that Leproink is trying for him also; 
is that true? 

SALOME. Yes, yes, dear aunt, a lot of go-betweens go to his 
house. But God will surely not let a man like that be- 
come his son-in-law while my daughter is left to become 
the wife of a shopkeeper. 

CuHacHo. Who would have believed that this Barssegh 
would have worked himself up like that! Yet God be 
praised! Perhaps it is the times that bring it about. 
Yesterday or the day before he was a shop-boy at Basas- 
choma,® and now! I can picture him as he was then! 
He wore a tschocha ® of green camelot with a narrow pur- 
ple belt. The wadding stuck out at his elbows and his 
boots were mended in four places. Great piles of goods 
were loaded on the poor devil’s shoulders. Many a time, 
with the yardstick in one hand, he came to our houses 
with whole pieces of calico and got a few pennies from us 
for his trouble. And now he is a man of some impor- 
tance! Many’s the time we gave him a cuff and sent him 
back and forth with his goods. And, Salome, do you 
know that he lied? God save us from such lies! But 
what could he do? One would die of hunger, to be sure, 
if one always told the truth. 

SALOME. Yes, yes, dear aunt, it is the same Barssegh—whom 
they all call ‘“ Wassil Matwejitsch ”” now. 

Cuacuo. What! have they turned Mathus, his father, into 
Matjewitsch? Who is good enough for them now? 
Many a time has the cobbler, Mathus, mended my shoes. 


5 A bazaar in Tiflis. ° A long overcoat. 


86 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


His workshop was in the Norasch quarter. O good 
heavens, the world is upside down! 


Scene II 


Nato [entering at right]. Mamma! O aunt, are you here, 
too? 

[Hugs her and kisses her. 

CuacHo. O my only treasure! [Kisses her.| How fresh 
and pretty you are! Where are you going? Are you 
going out when I have just come? 

Nato. What are you saying, dear aunt? I will come back 
again immediately. I am only going to make a few pur- 
chases at the bazaar. [Turning to Salome] Dear 
mamma 


[They begin to speak together in a low tone. 
CuHAcHO [aside]. Yes, yes, her father is right! [Aloud.] 
I will go and see what the children are doing [trying to 
rise|. Come here, you pretty rogue, and give me your 
hand. I feel exhausted. 
[Nato helps her. 
SALoME [offering her hand]. Let me help you, too. 
Cuacuo. May God give you health and a life as long as 
mine! [To Nato:] O my heart’s angel—if only I 
have my wish and see you wear the bridal wreath! 
SALOME. God grant it, dear aunt! 
Cuacuo. He will, he will, my child! [Goimg toward the 
entrance.| Good heaven! how old I have grown! 
[Goes out at the left. 


Scene III 


Nato. Don’t keep me waiting, mamma. 
SALOME. And won’t a little less satisfy you? Why do you 
want so much all of a sudden? 
Nato. But, dear mamma, please; I want it so much! 
SALOME [putting her hand in her pocket|. I can never get 
away from you. 
[Takes out her purse and looks for something in tt. 
Nato [holding out her hand]. You have it there, mamma. 


THE RUINED FAMILY 87 


SALOME. Have a little patience. [Takes out some money 
and gives it to her.| Take it! take it! though I know 
your father will scold about it. 

Nato. But what can I do, when I need it so badly? 

SALOME. Need it—nonsense! There is no end of your 
needs. [Pulling at Nato’s hat.| How have you put 
your hat on again? And the flowers are all pulled apart. 

| Arranges tt. 

Nato. Bah! what difference does that make? 

SALOME. You're crazy! [Removes her veil.| How have 
you put on your veil? I must ever and eternally fix 
something on you! 

Nato. You will make me too beautiful, mamma. 

SALOME. Whether I make you beautiful or not, it will make 
no difference. You will be only the wife of a merchant. 

Nato. ‘Yes, yes, I have been expecting that! 

SALOME. And you really think that your father will ask 
you? 

Nato. And whom should he ask? 

SALOME. Think what you will; he will not let his decision 
be altered by you. He says, “I will give her only to a 
business man.” 

Nato. Yes, yes, surely. 

SALOME. By heaven! 

Nato. Mamma, is what you say true? 

SALOME. As true as the sun shines above you. He spoke of 
it again to-day. 

Nato. It is decided, then? 

SALOME. What am I to do if there is no other way out? You 
know we have not any too much money. 

Nato. And you are going to make a shopkeeper’s wife of 
me, so that everyone will laugh at me [ready to cry]; 
so that I shall be an object of scorn for all. And why 
have you had me so well educated? Have I learned Rus- . 
sian and French and piano-playing for a man of that sort? 
What does a shopkeeper want of a piano? Pickle-jars 
and butter-tubs are useful to him, but not my French! I 
am curious as to how he would speak to me: Moz aller, 
vous joli tu voir. 

SALOME. Enough! enough! you wild girl! 


88 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


Nato [crying]. It is out of the question, mamma. No, not 
for the world could I marry a business man! I will not 
have one! I would rather jump into the water than 
marry one! [Crying, she gives the money back.| Take 
it back! What do I need it for now? Why should I go 
out and make purchases? For whom, then? 

[Takes off her mantle, flings her parasol aside, sits 
down on the sofa and begins to cry. 

SALOME. O great heaven! is this not torture? I get it on both 
sides. [Turning to Nato:] Be still, you stupid girl! 
Nato. For this I have learned so much; for this you have 
brought me up so grandly and given yourself so much 
trouble and care! [Weeping.| Is he, also, to take me 
walking on the boulevard? Is he to accompany me to 


the club and to the theatre? [ Sobbing. 
SALOME. Be quiet! Enough! Give yourself no unnecessary 
heartache. 


Nato [jumps up and embraces Salome]. Dear, dear mamma! 
dearest mamma, save me! 

SALOME. Oh, rather would your mother be dead than to see 
this day! 

Nato. Dear mamma, save me! save me, or I shall go into 
consumption! God is my witness! 

SALOME [weeping]. The deuce take everything! 

[Wipes away her tears. 

Nato. Mamma, if you please, I would rather not marry at 
all. I will serve you here at home like a housemaid. 
Only make them stop this affair! 

SALOME. That has already happened, my child. 

Nato. Dear mamma, please do it. 

SALOME. But I tell you, truly. 

Nato. Is it really true? 

SALOME. As true as the sun shines. 

Nato [kissing Salome]. O my dear, dear mamma! 

SALOME. At last I am rid of you. Your eyes are real tear- 
fountains. It would not have taken much more to make 
me cry, too. 

Nato [laughing]. Ha! ha! ha! 

SALOME. You can laugh now. 

Nato. Ha! ha! ha! you gave me such a fright! 


THE RUINED FAMILY 89 


SALOME. You are terribly flighty. [Presses the money into 
her hand.| Here, take it; and do not be too long. 
[Smoothes Nato’s hair. 
Nato [pulling herself away from her mother]. Very well, 
mamma. [Taking her parasol and mantle. 
SALOME. Wipe your eyes, I pray, or they will laugh at you! 
Nato. They are quite dry; and what does anybody care about 
my eyes? [ Going. 
SALOME. Come back soon; don’t allow yourself to be de- 
layed. 
Nato. I will come back right away, dear mamma. 
[Goes toward the right into the ante-room. 


Scene IV 


SALOME [alone]. No, there is no other way out. Cost what 
it will, I shall accomplish what I want. Yes, I must, if 
I am ruined by it. Mother of God, plead for my Nato! 

Ossep [enters, right]. Where has Nato gone? 

SALOME. Just across the way, to the store. She needed 
some music. 

Ossep. These are fine times for me! And a girl like this is 
to become a good citizen’s wife! [Sits down on the sofa. 

SALOME [coming near]. That is what I say, too, dear Ossep. 
[Lays hand on his shoulder.| Are you not sorry? Is it 
not too bad about her? 

OssEp. I am still more to be pitied; but who pities me? 

SALOME. Shall we really give her to a business man for a 
wife? 

Ossep. And what else? Is a merchant such a bad fellow? 
To judge by your words, I also am good for nothing; 
I who, day and night, worry myself to get you bread. 

SALOME [embracing him]. How can you say such a thing, 
dear Ossep? Listen to me; are you not sorry for Nato? 
It would be quite different if she had been educated as 
I was. 

Ossep [smiling]. Hm! Then she would be the right sort. 

SALOME [draws back her hand]. You are very polite, really! 
You laugh at poor me! Well, talk as you like, but finish 
this affair with Nato. 


90 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


Ossep. I have already finished it. What will you have of 
me? 

SALOME. How, then? You will not give as much as they 
demand. 

Ossep. How can I give it when I have not so much? 

SALOME [embracing him]. Dear Ossep, please do it. 

Ossep. But I cannot do it. 

SALOME [still pleading]. If you love me only a little bit, you 
will do me this favor. 

Ossep. O woman! Can you not understand at all what yes 
and no mean? I tell you short and plain that I cannot 
afford to do it. My back is too weak to lift such a bur- 
den. A man can stretch out his feet in bed only as far as 
the covers reach. Isn’t that true? Am I stingy? And 
would I be stingy toward my own child? 

SALOME. But in this case no one asks whether we have it 
or not. Would it not be stupid to have such a lover for 
your daughter and not sacrifice everything for him? 
Others, indeed, have no great wealth, and yet give and 
are not called crazy. 

Ossep. Perhaps they have stolen money, since it is so easy 
for them to give it up. However, what is the use of so 
much talk? Take the cotton out of your ears and listen, 
for, I tell you, I have no money; and I repeat, I have no 
money. ‘To-day or to-morrow I expect the conclusion of 
important business. If it is not completed, I am _ lost, 
body and soul. And you stand before me and torture me 
by asking me to do what is impossible! 

SALOME. But why do you seem so angry? One cannot even 
open one’s mouth before you. 

[Seats herself sulking on the tachta. 

Ossep. Yes, 1am angry. You women would exasperate an 
angel, let alone a man! 

SALOME [reproachfully|]. Just heaven! with my heart bleed- 
ing, I speak to you of our daughter and you are angry! 
You, then, are her father? Let us suppose I was dead: 
would it not be your sacred duty to provide for her 
future? 

OssEp. Am I not providing for her, you wicked woman? 
Have I not presented three or four young persons to you 


THE RUINED FAMILY gl 


as sons-in-law? For that matter, they would still be 
very glad to take her. They are young, clever, and in- 
dustrious, and, moreover, persons of our condition in life. 
But who can be reasonable and speak to you? You have 
got it into your head that Nato’s husband shall be an offi- 
cial, and there you stick. It is not your daughter’s 
future that makes your heart bleed, but your own ambi- 
tion. 

SALOME. What more can I say to you? Are they, then, your 
equals? Who are they, properly speaking? Who are 
their parents? 

Ossep [springing up|. And who are you, then? Whose 
daughter, whose wife are you? Perhaps you are descend- 
ed from King Heraclius; or perhaps you are the wife of 
a prince! 

SALOME. How the man talks! Were your parents of better 
rank than mine? What? Say! 


Scene V 
Chacho. 


CuHacuo [enters, left]. What’s all this noise about? 

OssEp. O aunt, you are here? 

CuacHo. Yes, it is I, as I love and live. How are you, my 
son? 

Ossep. Pretty well, thank God. And how are you, aunt? 

Cuacuo. My dear son, I am very feeble. But what is go- 
ing on here? They must have heard your voices in the 
street. 

SALOME. Do you not know that married people often have 
little quarrels? 

Cuacuo. That I know a hundred times better than you. 
And only a blockhead takes a dispute between man and 
wife seriously. That is true; but that you two have al- 
ready had time to get used to each other is also true. 

Ossep. Sit down, dear aunt. Tell me, rather, whether a 
wagon can be moved when one ox pulls to the right and 
the other to the left. 

Cuacuo. It will not stir from its place any more than I will 


g2 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


now. [Sits down with legs planted firmly.| What can 
move me away from here? 

OssEp. Now, is it not true? One must help the other, for 
one alone cannot accomplish much, be he ever so strong 
and ready to work. 

SALOME. Oh, yes! and you are the one ready to work and I 
am the lazy one, I suppose. 

Ossep. For heaven’s sake, do not fly into a passion like that! 

Cuacuo [to Salome]. That was nothing more than a figure 
of speech. Who is accusing you of laziness? 

OssEPp [sitting down]. Tell me, can we count ourselves 
among those persons who can give their daughter 10,000 
rubles for a dowry? Are we able to do that? 

SALOME. Eight thousand is surely not 10,000. 

Ossep. Both are too much for me. 

SALOME. Oh, it is all the same to me; it is not for myself; 
it is for your daughter. 

[Sits down, ready to cry, upon the sofa. 

OsseEp. It is a beautiful thing, the way you look out for your 
daughter; but everything has its time and place. We 
have, remember, two other daughters to provide for. 

Cuacuo. Dear Ossep, why are you so obstinate? 

Ossep. I am not obstinate; but you two are. Yes, you are 
obstinate, and will pay no attention at all to what I say. 

CuacHo. Since when have you become such a niggard? 
You should have economized when you gave the sasan- 
dars! something like ten rubles for a fee. 

OssEep. Those times have passed and won’t come back again, 
dear aunt. At that time I was able to do it; but not now. 
Trade is dull and my business is going badly. 

Cuacuo. Possibly with your enemies, dear son; but there 
is nothing the matter with your business. 

Ossep [aside]. There you have it! They insist that I let 
them inspect my books. [Aloud.] Do you know, what, 
aunt? What I say I first consider, for I do not like to 
speak to no purpose. If that young man pleases you and 
my daughter, and you will have him at all hazards, I have 
nothing against it. So therefore go to him; and if you 
can settle the affair with 6,000 rubles, do it. I will gladly 


1 Musicians, 


THE RUINED FAMILY 93 


make the best of it; but mind, this is my last word, and 
if you hang me up by the feet, I will not add a single 
shilling. 

Cuacuo. What has come over you, Ossep? If you are will- 
ing to give 6,000 rubles, you will surely not let the whole 
thing go to pieces for the sake of 500 or I,000 more? 

Ossep. Do you know what, aunt? Even if a voice from 
heaven were to demand it of me, that is my last word. 
Even if you flayed me alive, I would not give another 
shilling. 

Cuacuo. Do not excite yourself, dear son. Let us first see. 
Perhaps it can be settled with 6,000 rubles. 

Ossep. Yes, to that even I say yes. 

SALOME. If a man can give 6,000, he can surely give 1,000 
or 2,000 more. Why do you fret yourself unnecessarily ? 

Ossep [aroused]. God deliver me from the hands of these 
women! They say that one woman can get the best of 
two men; and here I am alone and fallen into the hands 
of two of you. Where, then, have you discovered this 
confounded fellow of a son-in-law? That comes of his 
visits. What has he to do with us? We are entirely 
different kind of people. [To Salome:] He is neither 
your brother nor your cousin; why, then, does he come 
running into our house? I believe he has been here as 
many as three times. I decline once and for all his visits. 
May his foot never cross my threshold! 

CuacuHo. Do not get excited, my son. Do not be vexed. 

Ossep. Now, aunt, you come so seldom to our house, and 
just to-day you happen in: how does that come? 

Cuacuo. If you are so vexed about my visit, go down in the 
cellar and cool yourself off a little. 

Ossep. I am a man; do you understand me? If I tell you 
that I can give no more, you should believe me. 
CHacuHo. We believe it, truly; we believe it, but we must 
say to you, nevertheless, that the dowry that a man gives 
his daughter means a great deal. It does not mean buy- 
ing a house, when it is laudable to be economical. No; 
where the dowry is concerned, a man must think neither 
of his pocket nor of his money-box. You were acquaint- 
ed with Jegor? Did he not sell his last house and after- 


94 


ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


ward lived like a beggar to give his daughter a proper 
dowry? When he died, was there not money for his 
burial? That you know yourself very well. Are you 
any poorer than he, that you grumble like a bear about 
2,000 rubles? 


Ossep. O great Heavens! they will bring me to despair yet. 


Isn’t this a punishment of Providence, to bring up a 
daughter, spend a lot of money on her education, and 
when you have done everything, then hang a bag of gold 
around her neck, so that she may find someone who ts 
kind enough to take her home with him? A pretty cus- 
tom! 


SALOME. Against the manners and customs of the world you 


can do nothing, however. 


Ossep. The devil take your manners and customs! If you 


hold so fast to old ways, then stick to all of them. Is it 
an old custom to wear, instead of Georgian shoes, littie 
boots—and with men’s heels, too? And that a girl 
should be ashamed to go with her own people and should 
walk around on the arm of a strange young man: is that 
also one of the good old customs? Where can we find 
anything of the good old manners and customs of our 
fathers, in the living or eating or housekeeping, or in the 
clothing, or in balls and society? What! was it so in 
old times? Do you still talk about old manners and cus- 
toms? If once we begin to live after the new fashion, 
let us follow it in all things. Why do we still need to 
have bedclothes for twenty-four beds for guests? Why 
do we use the old cupboard and cake-oven and sofa-cover? 
Why does one not visit a mother with a young baby and 
stay whole months with them? Why does one invite 100 
persons to a wedding and give funeral feasts and let 
eighty women mourners come and howl like so many 
dervishes? And what is that yonder [points to the furm- 
ture|?~ That one is old-fashioned and the others new- 
fashioned. If we can have one kind, why do we use the 
other ? [Silent awhile. 


SALOME. Well, well! don’t be angry! So you will give 


6,000 rubles—you have promised it. What is lacking 
I will procure. 


THE RUINED FAMILY 95 


Ossep. You will procure it? Where, then, will you get it? 
Not some of your own dowry, I hope. 

SALOME. I had no dowry. Why do you tease me with that? 
No, everything I have I will sell or pawn. The pearls, 
my gold ornaments, I will take off of my katiba. The 
gold buttons can be melted. My brooch and my necklace, 
with twelve strings of pearls, I will also sell; and, if it is 
necessary, even the gold pins from my velvet cap must 
go. Let it all go! I will sacrifice everything for my 
Nato. I would give my head to keep the young man 
from slipping through my hands. 

[Exit hastily at left. 


Scene VI 
Ossep. Chacho. 


Ossep. Have you ever seen anything like it, aunt? I ask 
you, aunt, does that seem right? 

Cuacuo. My son, who takes a thing like that to heart? 

Ossep. She is obstinate as a mule. Say, does she not de- 
serve to be soundly beaten, now? 

CuHacuo. It only needed this—that you should say such a 
thing! As many years as you have lived together you 
have never harmed a hair of her head; then all of a sud- 
den you begin to talk like this. Is that generous? 

Ossep. O aunt! I have had enough of it all. Were an- 
other man in my place, he would have had a separation 
long ago. [Sits down.] If she sees on anyone a new 
dress that pleases her, J must buy one like it for her; if 
a thing pleases her anywhere in a house, she wants one 
in her house; and if I don’t get it for her she loses her 
senses. It is, for all the world, as though she belonged 
to the monkey tribe. Can a man endure it any longer? 

CuHacuo. The women are all so, my son. Why do you fret 
yourself so much on that account? 

Ossep. ‘Yes, yes; you have the habit of making out that all 
women are alike—all! all! If other people break their 
heads against a stone, shall I do the same? No; I do 
what pleases myself, and not what pleases others. 


96 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


CuHaAcHo. Ossep, what nonsense are you talking? As I was 
coming here, even, I saw a laborer’s wife so dressed up 
that a princess could hardly be compared with her. She 
had on a lilac silk dress and a splendid shawl on her head, 
fine, well-fitting gloves, and in her hand she held a satin 
parasol. I stood staring, open-mouthed, as she passed. 
Moreover, she trailed behind her a train three yards long. 
I tell you my heart was sad when I saw how she swept 
the street with that beautiful dress and dragged along all 
sorts of rubbish with it. I really do not see why they 
still have street-sweepers. It was a long time before I 
could turn my eyes from her, and thought to myself, 
Lord, one can’t tell the high from the low nowadays! 
And what can one say to the others if a laborer’s wife puts 
on so much style? 

Ossep. I said that very thing. I have just spoken of it. 
A new public official has just arrived. She sees that 
others want to marry their daughters to him, and she runs, 
head first, against the wall to get ahead of them. 

CuHacuo. You are really peculiar. You have, you say, not 
enough money to provide a dowry for your daughter, and 
yet you brought her up and educated her in the fashion. 
For what has she learned to play the piano, then? Con- 
sider everything carefully. 

Osser. Devil take this education! Of what good is this 
education if it ruins me? Is that sort of an education for 
the like of us? Ought we not to live as our fathers lived 
and stay in our own sphere, so that we could eat our bread 
with a good appetite? What kind of a life is that of the 
present day? Where is the appetizing bread of earlier 
times? Everything that one eats is smeared with gall! 
For what do I need a salon and a parlor, a cook and a 
footman? If aman stretches himself too much in his coat 
the seams must burst! 

Cuacuo. If you don’t want to have all those things can’t you 
manage the house another way? Who is to blame for it? 

Ossep. Have I managed it so? I wish he may break his neck 
who brought it all to pass! I haven’t done it; it came 
of itself, and how it happened I don’t know. Oftentimes 
when I look back over my early days I see that things 


THE RUINED FAMILY 97 


were very different twenty years ago. It seems to me I 
have to live like an ambassador! [Stands up.] We are 
all the same, yes, we all go the same pace. Wherever 
you go you find the same conditions, and no one ques- 
tions whether his means permit it. If a man who has 
10,000 rubles lives so, I say nothing; but if one with 
an income of 1,000 rubles imitates him, then my good- 
nature stops. What are the poorer people to learn 
from us if we give them such an example? Weren’t the 
old times much better? In a single darbas! we all lived 
together; three or four brothers and their families. We 
saved in light and heat, and the blessing of God was with 
us. Now in that respect it is wholly different. If one 
brother spends fifty rubles, the other spends double the 
sum, so as not to be behind him. And what kind of 
brothers are there now, as a rule? And what kind of 
sisters and fathers and mothers? If you were to chain 
them together you could not hold them together a week 
at a time. If it is not a punishment from God, I don’t 
know what is. 

CuacHo. My dear Ossep, why do you revive those old 
memories? It gives me the heartache to recall those old 
times. I remember very well how it was. In the room 
stood a long broad sofa that was covered with a carpet. 
When evening came there would be a fire-pan lighted in 
the middle of the room and we children would sit around 
it. That was our chandelier. Then a blue table-cloth 
was spread on the sofa and something to eat, and every- 
thing that tasted good in those days was placed on it. 
Then we sat around it, happy as could be: grandfather, 
father, uncle, aunt, brothers, and sisters. The wine 
pitcher poured out sparkling wine into the glasses, and it 
wandered from one end of the table to the other. Many 
times there were twenty of us. Now if for any reason 
five persons come together in a room one is likely to be 
suffocated. [Points to the ceiling.| With us there was 
an opening for smoke in the ceiling that was worth twenty 
windows. When it became bright in the morning the day- 
light pressed in on us, and when it grew dark the twi- 


1 Hall. 


98 


ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


light came in there, and the stars glimmered through. 
Then we spread our bed-things out, and we went to sleep 
together with play and frolic. We had a kettle and a 
roasting-spit in the house, and also a pot-ladle and 
strainer, and the men brought in the stock of provisions 
in bags. Of the things they brought, one thing was as 
appetizing as the other. Now, it seems the cooks and 
servants eat all the best bits. God preserve me from 
them! Our homes are ruined by the new ways! 


Ossep. Do you know what, aunt? I wager it will not be 


long before the whole city is bankrupt. On one side ex- 
travagance and the new mode of life will be to blame, and 
on the other our stupidity. Can we go on living so? It is 
God’s punishment, and nothing more. You will scarcely 
believe it when I tell you that I pay out ten rubles every 
month for pastry for the children alone. 


CuacHo. No! Reduce your expenses a little, my son. Re- 


trench! 


OssEp. That is easily said. Retrench, is it? Well, come 


over here and do it. I would like to see once how you 
would begin. Listen, now! Lately I bought a pair of 
children’s shoes at the bazaar for three abaces.?, The lad 
threw them to the ceiling. “I want boots at two and a 
half rubles,” said the six-year-old rascal. He was ready 
to burst out crying. What could I do but buy new ones? 
If others would do the same I could let the youngster run 
in cheap boots. How can one retrench here? Twenty 
years, already, I have struggled and see no way out. To- 
day or to-morrow my head will burst, or I may beat it 
to pieces against a stone wall. Isn’t it an effort at re- 
trenchment when I say that I cannot afford it? but with 
whom am I to speak here? Does anyone understand me? 
Yes, reduce your expenses! 

[Goes toward the ante-room to the right and meets 

“Nato with four sheets of music in her hand. 


2 Abace—z2o kopecks, 


THE RUINED FAMILY 99 


Scene VII 
Nato, Ossep, Chacho. 


OssEp. Yes, yes, reduce your expenses! 

CuHacuo. Little girl, how quickly you have come back! 

Nato. I did not go far, aunt. 

Cuacuo. What have you in your hand, sweetheart? 

Nato. I have bought some new music. 

OsseEp [stepping up to them]. Yes, yes, retrench! [Taking 
a sheet of music out of her hand.| What did you pay 
for this? 

Nato. Four abaces. 

Ossep. And for this [taking another]? 

Nato [looking at it]. Six abaces. 

Ossep [taking a third]. And for this? 

Nato [fretfully]. One ruble and a half. 

Ossep [taking the last]. And certainly as much for this? 

Nato. No, papa; I paid two rubles and a half for that. 

OssEep [angrily]. And one is to economize! Am I to blame 
for this? What have you bought four pieces for? Was 
not one or two enough? 

Nato [frightened]. I need them. 

OsseEp [still more angrily]. Tell me one thing—is this to be 
endured? If she could play properly at least, but she only 
drums two or three pieces and says she can play. I can- 
not play myself, but I have heard persons who played 
well. They could use these things, but not we. I wish 
the devil had the man who introduced this! [Throws the 
music on the floor.| I'll cut off my hand if she can play 
properly. 

CuacuHo. There, there, stop, now! 

OssEep. Whatever she tries to do is only half done: music, 
languages—she has only half learned. Tell me, what can 
she do? Is she able to sew anything? or to cut out a dress 
for herself? Yes, that one seems like a European girl! 
Ha! ha! Five times I have been in Leipsic, and the 
daughter of the merest pauper there can do more than she 
can. What have I not seen in the way of needlework! 
I gaped with admiration. And she cannot even speak 
Armenian properly, and that is her mother tongue! Can 


100 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


she write a page without mistakes? Can she pronounce 
ten French words fluently? Yes, tell me, what can she 
do? What does she understand? She will make a fine 
housekeeper for you! The man who takes her for his wife 
is to be pitied. She be able to share with him the troubles of 
life! Some day or other she will be a mother and must 
bring up children. Ha, ha! they will have a fine bringing- 
up! She is here to make a show; but for nothing beside! 
She is an adept at spending money. Yes, give her money, 
money, so that she can rig herself out and go to balls and 
parties! [Nato cries.] CanI stand this any longer? Can 
I go on with these doings? Retrench, you say. What is 
this [taking a corner of Nato’s tunic in his hand]? How 
is this for a twelve-story building? Does it warm the 
back? How am I to reduce expenses here? And if I 
do it, will others do it also? I’d like to see the man who 
could do it! [Nato still crying. 
Cuacuo. Do all these things you have said in my presence 
amount to anything? You yourself said that you 
troubled yourself little about what others did. What do 
you want, then? Why should you poison the heart of this 
innocent girl? [All are silent awhile. 
OssePp [lays his hand on his forehead and recovers him- 
self]. O just heaven, what am I doing? I am be- 
side myself. [Goes up to Nato.| Not to you, not to 
you, my Nato, should I say all this! [Embraces her.] 
No, you do not deserve it; you are innocent. We are to 
blame for all. I am to blame, I! because I imitated the 
others and brought you up as others brought up their 
daughters. Don’t cry! I did not wish to hurt you. I 
was in bad humor, for everything has vexed me to-day, 
and unfortunately you came in at the wrong moment. 
[Picks up the music and gives it to her.| Here, take the 
music, my child. [Embraces her again.| Go and buy 
some more. Do what you wish everywhere, and be behind 
no one. Until to-day you have wanted nothing, and, with 
God’s help, you shall want nothing in the future. 
[Kisses her and turns to go. 
CuacHo. Now, Ossep, think it over; come to some decision 
in the matter. 


THE RUINED FAMILY ror 


Ossep. I should like to, indeed; but what I cannot do I can- 
not do. | Goes off at the right. 


Scene VIII 
Nato, Chacho, then Salome. 


Nato [falling sobbing in Chacho’s arms]. O dear, dear aunt. 

CHACHO. Stop; don’t cry, my dear, my precious child. It 
is indeed your father. Stop; stop, Salome. 

SALOME [conmung in smiling|. Dear aunt, I have arranged 
everything. [Stops.] What is this now? Why are you 
crying? 

[Nato wipes away her tears and goes toward the divan. 

CuHacHo, You know her father, don’t you? He has been 
scolding her, and has made her cry. 

SALOME. If her father has been troubling her, then I will 
make her happy again. Nato, dear, I have betrothed 
you. [Nato looks at her in wonderment.| Yes, my love, 
be happy—what have you to say about it? Mr. Alexander 
Marmarow is now your betrothed. 

Nato. Is it really true, mamma dear? 

CuHacuo [at the same time]. Is it true? 

SALOME. It is true, be assured. 

Nato [embracing Salome]. O my dear, dear mother. 

SALOME [seizing her daughter and kissing her]. Now I am 
rid of my worries about you. I hope it will bring you 
joy. Go and put on another dress, for your betrothed is 
coming. 

Nato. Now? 

SALOME. Certainly, at once. You know, I presume, that you 
must make yourself pretty. 

Nato [happy and speaking quickly]. Certainly. I will wear 
the white barége with blue ribbons, the little cross on 
black velvet ribbon, and a blue ribbon in my hair. [Hugs 
Chacho.| O my precious auntie! 

Cuacuo [embracing and kissing her]. May this hour bring 
you good-fortune! I wish it for you with all my heart. 
Nato [hugging and kissing Salome again]. O you dear, you 

dearest mamma. [Runs out of the room. 


¥o2 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


Scene IX 
Salome. Chacho. 


CuHacuo. What does all this mean? Am I dreaming or am I 
still awake? 

SALOME. What are you saying about dreams? His sister 
Champera was here, and about five minutes later he him- 
self came. They live very near here. 

CuHaAcHo. If it was arranged so easily, why have you wrangled 
and quarrelled so much? 

SALOME [in a whisper]. But what do you think, aunt? I 
have arranged the affair for 7,000 rubles, and I have had 
to promise his sister 200 rubles beside. 

CuHacHo. May I be struck blind! And you have done this 
without Ossep’s knowing it? 

SALOME [whispering]. He will not kill me for it, and iet him 
talk as much as he will. It could not go through other- 
wise. Get up and let us go into that room where Ossep will 
not hear us. [Helps her to rise. 

CHaAacHo. O just heaven! What women we have in these 
days! 


Scene X 


OssEp [alone, buckling his belt and holding his cap in his 
hand, comes in through the right-hand door, stands 
awhile in deep thought while he wrings his hands several 
times|. Give me money! Give me money! I would like 
to know where I am to get it. It is hard for me to give 
what I have promised. And what if it cannot be arranged 
for that sum? Am I, then, to make a mess of this!—I 
who have always been willing to make any sacrifice for 
my children? It must, indeed, lie in this—that the suitor 
does not please; for I could not find 2,000 to add 
to the 6,000 that I have promised. Yes, that’s it! 
The man is not the one I want for her. If he were an 
ordinary fellow, he would not treat with me. At any 
rate, what he is after will show itself now; yes, we shall 
soon see what kind of man he is! Up to this day I have 
always kept my word, and the best thing I can do is to 
keep it now. 


THE RUINED FAMILY 103 


Enter Gewo. 


OssEe [meeting him as he enters from the right]. Oh, it is 
you, dear Gewo! What brings you to our house? [Of- 
fering him his hand.| I love you; come again, and often! 

Gewo. You know well that if I had not need of you, I would 
not come. 

Ossep. How can I serve you? Pray, sit down. 

GeEwo [seating himself]. What are you saying about serving? 
Do you think that this confounded Santurian has 

Ossep [interrupting him anxiously]. What has happened? 

Gewo. The dear God knows what has happened to the fellow! 

OssEp. But go on, what has happened ? 

Gewo. What could happen? The fellow has cleared out 
everything. 

Ossep [disturbed and speaking softly]. What did you say, 
Gewo? Then I am lost, body and soul; then I am ruined! 

Gewo. I hope he will go to the bottom. How is one to trust 


any human being nowadays? Everyone who saw his 
way of living must have taken him for an honest man. 

Ossep [softly]. You kill me, man! 

GEwo. God in heaven should have destroyed him long ago, 
so that this could not have happened. But who could 
have foreseen it? When one went into his store every- 
thing was always in the best order. He kept his word, 
paid promptly when the money was due; but what lay 
behind that, no one knew. 

Ossep. I have depended on him so much. What do you say, 
Gewo? He owes me 10,000 rubles! I was going 
to satisfy my creditors with this sum. To-morrow his 
payment was due, and the next day mine. How can I 
satisfy ther now? Can I say that I cannot pay them 
because Santurian has given me nothing? Am I to be 
a bankrupt as well as he? May the earth swallow me 
rather! 

Gewo. I wish the earth would swallow him, or rather that he 
had never come into the world! I have just 2,000 
rubles on hand; if you wish I will give them to you to- 
morrow. 

Ossep. Good; I will be very thankful for them. But what 


104 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


do you say to that shameless fellow? Have you seen 
him? Have you spoken with him? 

Gewo. Of course. I have just come from him. 

Ossep. What did he say? Will he really give nothing? 

Gewo. If he does not lie, he will settle with you alone. Let 
the others kick, he said. Go to him right off, dear Ossep. 
Before the thing becomes known perhaps you can still 
get something out of him. 

OssEp. Come with me, Gewo. Yes, we must do something, 
or else I am lost. 

Gewo. The devil take the scoundrel! 


Scene XI 


SALOME [coming in from the left|. May I lose my sight if he 
is not coming already. He is already on the walk. [Look- 
ing out of the window and then walking toward the 
entry.| How my heart beats! 

[Goes into the ante-room. Alexander appears at the 
window and then at the door of the ante-room. | 


Alexander enters. 


SALOME [at the door]. Come; pray come in. [Offers her 
hand.| May your coming into our house bring blessings! 

ALEXANDER [making a bow]. Madame Salome [kisses her 
hand], I am happy that from now on I dare call myself 
your son. 

SALOME [kissing him on the brow]. May God make you as 
happy as your mother wishes. Please, please sit down! 
Nato will be here immediately. [They sit down. 

ALEXANDER, How are you, Madame Salome? What is Miss 
Natalie doing? Since that evening I have not had the 
pleasure of seeing her. 

SALOME. Thank you, she is very well. The concert that 
evening pleased me exceedingly. Thank heaven that so 
good a fashion has found entrance among us. In this way 
we have a perfect bazaar for the marriageable girls, for 
had not this concert taken place where would you two 
have found an opportunity to make each other’s acquaint- 


THE RUINED FAMILY 105 


ance? Where else could you have caught sight of each 
other? 

ALEXANDER. Dear lady, Miss Natalie must please everybody 
without concerts, and awaken love in them. Oh, how I 
bless my fate that it is my happy lot to win her love! 

SALOME. And my Nato pleases you, dear son-in-law? 

ALEXANDER. Oh, I love her with all my heart, dear madame! 

SALOME. If you love her so much, dear son, why did you exact 
so much money? For the sake of 1,000 rubles this affair 
almost went to pieces. Your sister Champera swore to me 
that if we did not give 1,000 rubles more you would this 
very day betroth yourself to the daughter of Barssegh 
Leproink. 

ALEXANDER. I wonder, Madame Salome, that you should 
credit such things. I marry Leproink’s daughter! I re- 
fuse Miss Natalie on her account! forget her beautiful 
black eyes and her good heart, and run after money! 
Would not that be shameful in me! I must confess to you 
freely, dear madame, that my sister’s way of doing things is 
hateful tome. Fi mauvais genre! But let us say no more 
about it. If only God will help us to a good ending! 

SaLoMe. God grant that neither of you may have anything to 
regret !—[rising]| I will come back immediately, dear son- 
in-law; I am only going to see what is keeping Nato. 
[Alexander also rises.| Keep your seat, I beg of you. 
How ceremonious you are! I will come right back. 

[Exit right. 


Scene XII 


ALEXANDER [alone]. At last my burning wish is fulfilled! 
Now I have both a pretty wife and money. Without 
money a man is not of the least importance. Let him 
give himself what trouble he may, if he has no money, no 
one will pay any attention to him. I have made only one 
mistake in the business. I have been in too much of a 
hurry. If I had held out a little longer they would have 
given me 8,000 rubles; now I must be satisfied with 7,000. 
Still, what was to be done? It would not have gone 
through otherwise; and for that matter, I may, perhaps, 


106 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


somehow make up for it in other ways. In any case, I 
stand here on a fat pasture-land where they seem to be 
pretty rich. The principal thing is that I should make 
myself popular among them, then I shall have succeeded 
in getting my fill out of them. Ha, ha, ha! How they 
worry themselves! Yes, the whole office will be in an 
uproar to-morrow. [Wuth affected voice:| ‘ Have you 
heard the news? Marmarow is engaged, and has received 
7,000 rubles dowry. And such a beautiful girl! Such 
a lovely creature! [Clucking with his tongue and changing 
his voice:| “Isit possible!” [Jn his own voice:| Charm- 
ing, charming, Marmarow! [Looking at lis clothing:]| 
Chic! Atrue gentleman am I! Yes, I am getting on. I 
must now think only of to-morrow and the next day, and 
how to get on further. The principal thing is for a man 
to know the value of money, for without money nothing 
can be undertaken. First, I shall have the interest on my 
capital; then my salary, and last some hundred rubles be- 
side. That makes 3,000 or 4,000 rubles a year. If I lay 
aside 1,000 rubles every year, I have in seven or eight 
years 10,000; in fifteen years double that, and soon. Yes, 
Monsieur Marmarow, you understand it! Be happy, 
therefore, and let the others burst with envy. 


Salome and Nato enter at the right, Salome holding 
Nato’s hand. 


ALEXANDER. Miss Natalie, the whole night long I thought 
only of you! [Kisses her hand.]| 

SALOME. Kiss her on the cheek and give her the engagement 
ring. 

ALEXANDER. Oh, you are the sun of my existence! [Draws 
a ring from his finger and gives it to Natalie.) From 
now on you are mine. Please! [Kisses her.] 

SALOME. | Be happy and may you reach old age together. 
[Kisses Alexander; then Nato.| God bless you, my 
children. Sit down, I pray you, Alexander [pointing to 
the sofa on which Alexander and Nato sit down]. Your 
father will soon be here. [Walks to and fro in joyful 
excitement. | 


THE RUINED FAMILY 107 


ALEXANDER [looking at Nato]. Dear Natalie, why are you so 
silent? Let me hear your sweet voice, I beg of you. 

Nato. I am speechless, Monsieur Marmarow. 

ALEXANDER. Monsieur! 

Nato. Dear Alexander. 

ALEXANDER [Seizing her hand]. So! That sounds much 
sweeter! [Kisses her hand.] 


Enter Chacho. 


SALOME. Come in, dear aunt. 

CuacHo. Such a thing has never happened to me before! 
Could you not wait till the man of the house arrived? 
SALOME. Oh, it is all the same; he will be here soon enough. 

Give them your blessing, I beg of you. 

CuacHo. May God bestow all good things upon you. May 
heaven grant the prayer of me, a sinner. [Alexander and 
Nato stand up.| May you have nothing to regret. May 
you flourish and prosper and grow old together on the 
same pillow. [Ossep comes to the door and stands 
astonished. | 

Cuacuo [continuing]. God grant that your first may bea boy! 
Love and respect each other! May the eye of the Czar 
look down on you with mercy! [Sees Ossep.] Let the 
father now offer you his good wishes. 

SALOME. Dear Ossep, congratulate your daughter. 

Nato. Dear papa! 

[Goes up to Ossep and kisses his hand. Ossep stands 
motionless. 

ALEXANDER [seizing Ossep’s hand]. From now on, dear 
father, count me among your children. [Turning to Nato 
offended:| What is this? 

SALOME. Don’t be impolite, Ossep. 

CuHaAcHo. What has happened to you, Ossep? 

ALEXANDER [to Salome]. I understand nothing of this. [To 
Ossep:| My father, you seem dissatisfied. 

Ossep [recovering himself|. I dissatisfied! No—yes—I am 
dizzy. 

ALEXANDER [offering him a chair]. Sit down, I pray, my 
father. 


108 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


Ossep [to Alexander]. Do not trouble yourself. It is already 
passed. 

SALOME. Can one meet his son-in-law like that? And such a 
son-in-law, beside! Say something, do. 

Osser. What shall I say, then? You have consummated the 
betrothal. God grant that all will end well. [To Alex- 
ander:| Please be seated. 

ALEXANDER. My father, when do you wish the betrothal to be 
celebrated? 

Ossep. That depends upon you. Do as you wish. 

ALEXANDER. I will invite twenty persons and bring them 
with me. My superiors I must invite also; it would not 
do to omit them. 

OssEp. Do as you see fit. 

ALEXANDER [to Salome]. Perhaps he is angry with me. If 
there is any reason for it, pray tell me now. 

SALOME. What are you saying? That cannot be! 

[They move away a little and speak softly together. 

OsseEp [on the other side of the stage to Chacho]. You God- 
forsaken! Could you not wait a moment? 

CuHacHo. What is the matter now? 

OssEp. Only God in heaven knows how I stand! Think of 
it! Santurian has failed. 

CuHaAcHo. Great heaven! 

ALEXANDER [offering Nato hts arm]. Something must have 
happened ! [They go off at the left, Salome following. 

OssEp. Righteous God, why dost thou punish me thus? 

SALOME [returning to Ossep|. Do with me as you will, but 
it could not have been helped. I have promised him 
7,000 rubles as dowry. [Turning to Chacho as she leaves 
the room:| Pray come with me, aunt. You come, too, 
Ossep. [Exit Salome. 


Scene XIII 


Ossep [much excited]. What do I hear? Has she spoken the 
truth? Do you hear? Why do you not answer me? Why 
are you silent? [Still more excited.| It is true, then! 
Yes, yes, I see that it is true! O God, let lightning strike 
this unlucky house that we may all die together. I have 


THE RUINED FAMILY 109 


just lost an important sum and come home to prevent 
further negotiations. And see there! 

Cuacuo. I am to blame for it. Do not get excited. I will 
add 1,000 rubles to it, if need be, from the money I have 
laid by for my burial. 

Ossep. From your burial money? Have I already fallen so 
low that I must ask alms? Keep your money for your- 
self! I do not want it. Drop that complaint also, for I 
am still rich, very rich. How can it injure me that San- 
turian has failed? I stand here firm and unshakable, and 
have inexhaustible money resources. [Tearing his hair. | 
O God! O God! [Walks to and fro excitedly.| Now I 
will go and wish my son-in-law joy. Yes, I must go so 
that I shall not make myself ridiculous to him. The man 
is a government official ! 

[Exit right, laughing bitterly. 

CuHAcHo. Gracious heaven, be thou our saviour and deliverer. 


CURTAIN. 


ACT SECOND 


Scene I 


A richly furnished sales-room in Barssegh’s house. 


Micuo. Two, three, four, five, six and this little piece. It does 
not measure so much! 

BARSSEGH [standing up and giving Micho a rap on the nose]. 
You have what is lacking there. Measure again. Now 
you’ve got what is lacking. I will tear your soul out of 
your body if you measure so that in seven arschin* it 
comes out one werschok short. 

MicHo [measuring again]. O dear, O dear! 

BARSSEGH. Look out, or I will take that “O dear” out of 
your ear. Be up and at it now! 

MicHo. Oh, Mr. Barssegh! [Measuring.] One, two, three 

BARSSEGH. Stretch it, you blockhead. 

Micuo [stretching the cotton]. Three, four. [Wipes the 
perspiration from his brow. | 

BARSSEGH. What is the matter with you? You sweat as 
though you had a mule-pack on your back. 

MicuHo. Five. 

BarSSEGH. Pull it out more. 

MicHo. Six and this little piece. It lacks three werschok 
again. 

BARSSEGH [pulling his ears]. It lacks three werschok? There 
they are! 

MicHo. Oh my, oh my! 

BarssEGH. You calf; will you ever develop into a man? 

MicuHo. O dear mother! 

BarssEcH [pulling him again by the ear]. Doesn’t it grow 
longer? 

MicwHo [crying]. Dear Mr. Barssegh, dear sir, let me go. 

BarRSSEGH. I want to teach you how to measure. 


1 Russian measure of length. 
IIO 


THE RUINED FAMILY ELz 


Micuo. It reaches, I say; it reaches, indeed; it reaches. Let 
me measure again. 

BarSsEGH. Now take care that you make it seven arschin. 

MicwHo [aside]. Holy Karapet, help me. [Measuring.] One, 
two 

BARSSEGH. O you blockhead! 

Micuo. Three. 

BarssEGH. Wake up! 

Micuo. Four. 

BARSSEGH. Haven’t you seen how Dartscho measures? 

Micuo. Five. 

BARSSEGH. Will you ever learn how to do it? 

Micuo. Five. 

BarssEGH. If you keep on being so stupid my business will be 
ruined. 

MicuHo. Five—five. 

BARSSEGH. I give you my word that I will give you the sack. 

Micuo. Five—five. 

BarssecH. Measure further. 

MicuHo. Five—[aside:]; Holy George, help me! [Aloud:] 
Six. I cannot stretch it any more or I shall tear it. 

BARSSEGH. Measure, now. 

MicuHo. O dear; I believe it is already torn. 

BarsseEGH [looking at the cloth]. I see nothing. God forbid! 

Micuo [looking at the measure]. It is short a half werschok of 
seven arschin every time. 

The madman, Most, comes in at the middle door and stands in 

the background. 


Scene II 
Most. 


BARSSEGH [hitting Micho on the head]. What are you good 
for? Can’t you get that half werschok out of it? 

Micuo [howling]. What am I to do when the cloth is too 
short? 

BARSSEGH [pulling his hair]. Are you sure you’re not lying? 

Micuo [yelling]. How can you say that? Measure it yourself 
and we shall see whether there are seven arschin here. 


112 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


BarssecH [angry; taking measure and calico]. You say there 
are not seven here? Wait, I will show you [measuring]. 
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, and a quarter left 
over for a present to you. What do you say about it now? 
You must learn to measure if you burst doing it. But you 
think only of your week’s pay. Now, hurry up; be lively 
there! 

Micuo. O heaven! How shall I begin? One, two—— 

BarssecGH. Be careful and don’t tear it. 

Micuo [crying]. What do you want of me? If I pull on the 
stuff I tear it; and if I don’t stretch it, no seven arschin 
will come out of it. 

Mosi [coming near]. Ha!ha!ha! Who is the toper? Who? 
’Tis I; the mad Mosi. Ha! ha! ha! 

BARSSEGH [aside]. How comes this crazy fellow here? 

Mosi [seizing the measure and calico]. Give it to me, you 
booby! There are not only seven arschin here, but twenty- 
seven [measuring quickly]. One, two, four, six, eight, ten, 
twelve, and here are thirteen and fourteen. Do you want 
me to make still more out of it? You must shove the stick 
back in measuring. Can’t you understand that? [Throws 
the stick and calico upon Micho.| Here, take it and be a 
man at last. You the shop-boy of such a great merchant 
and not find out a little thing like that. Haven’t you learned 
yet how to steal half a werschok? Ha, ha, ha! 

[Micho tries to free himself but becomes more en- 
tangled in the cloth. 

BarssEGH [to Mosi]. I forbid such impudent talk in my 
presence! Be silent, or I'll show you. 

“Most. That’s the way with all mankind. They never appreciate 
good intentions. [Pointing to Micho.| I only wanted to 
make something of him. Go, go, my son, be a man! 
Learn from your master! You surely see how much money 
he has scraped together! [To Barssegh:] How is it about 
éating? It’s time for dinner! Have the table set; I have 
come as a guest. What have you to-day? Coal-soup, per- 
haps, or water-soup? Yes, yes; you will entertain me 
finely! Ha, ha! 

BarssEGH [aside]. This confounded fellow is drunk again! 
[To Micho:] Get out of the room! 

[Exit Micho middle door. 


THE RUINED FAMILY 113 


Scene III 


Mosi. From this stuff you can make a shroud for yourself. 
To-day or to-morrow you must die, that’s sure. 

BARSSEGH. You'd better be still ! 

[Enter Khali at left. 

KHALI. Do you know the latest? 

BARSSEGH. What has happened? 

KHALI. What has happened? Marmarow was_ betrothed 
yesterday. 

BarsseEGH. No! 

KHALI. By heaven! 

BARSSEGH. To whom? 

KHALI. To the daughter of Ossep Gulabianz. 

BARSSEGH. Is that really true? 

KHALI. Do you think I am lying? They promised him 
10,000 rubles dowry. I always said you should have 
saved something. Now you have it! They have snatched 
him away from you. And such a man, too! They puff 
themselves up entirely too much. Where did they get the 
money, I would like to know? 

[Micho appears at the middle door. 

BarssecH. Run right off down to the Tapitach.t You know 
where Ossep Gulabianz’s store is? 

Micuo. Gulabianz? The one who brought money to-day? 

BARSSEGH. Yes, that one. Go and look for him wherever he 
is likely to be. Tell him he must bring the rest of the money 
at once. Now, run quickly. What else do I want to say? 
Oh, yes [pointing to the calico] ; take that winding-sheet 
with you. 

Most. Ha, ha, ha! Listen to him! 

BarSSEGH. By heaven! What am I chattering about? I am 
crazed! [Angrily, to Micho:] What are you gaping at? 
Do you hear? Take this calico. Go to the store and tell 
Dartscho to come here. Lively, now! 

[Exit Micho with goods. 

BARSSEGH [going on]. I would like to see how he is going to 
give 10,000 rubles dowry. I would like to know whose 
money it is? 

1A district of Tiflis. 
8 


114 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


KHALI. That stuck-up Salome has gotten my son-in-law away 
from me. 

BarssEGH. Never mind. I will soon put them into a hole. 

Mosi. Oh, don’t brag about things you can’t perform. What 
has Ossep done to you that you want revenge? How can 
Ossep help it if your daughter is as dumb as straw and 
has a mouth three ells long? And what have Micho’s ears 
to do with it? You should simply have given what the 
man asked. 

BaRSSEGH [rising]. O you wretch, you! 

Mosi. Yes, you should certainly have paid it. Why didn’t 
you? . For whom are you saving? To-morrow or the day 
after you will have to die and leave it here. 

BARSSEGH. Stop, or 

Kua [to Mosi]. Why do you anger him? Haven't we 
trouble and anxiety enough? 

Mosr. Well, I will be still. But I swear that this young man 
may call himself lucky that he has freed himself from you 
and closed with Ossep. Both of you together are not worth 
Ossep’s finger-tips. 

BARSSEGH. Leave me in peace or I will shake off all my anger 
on to you. 

Mosi. What can you do to me? You cannot put my store 

under the hammer. What a man you are, indeed! 

BarssEGH. A better man than you any day. 

Mosi. In what are you better? 

BARSSEGH. In the first place, I am master of my five senses, 
and you are cracked. 

Mos [laughs]. Ha, ha, ha! If you were rational you would 
not have said that. Am I crazy because I show up your 
villanies? You are wise, you say? Perhaps you are as 
wise as Solomon! 

BaARSSEGH. I am wealthy. 

Most. Take your money and— [Whispers something in his 

_ear.| -You have stolen it here and there. You have 
swindled me out of something, too. Me and this one and 
that one, and so you became rich! You have provided 
yourself with a carriage, and go riding in it and make your- 
self important. Yes, that is the way with your money. 
Did your father Matus come riding to his store in 


THE RUINED FAMILY 115 


carriage, eh? You say you are rich? True, there is 
scarcely anyone richer than you; but if we reckon together 
all the money you have gained honorably, we shall see 
which of us two has most. [Drawing his purse from his 
pocket and slapping it.| See! I have earned all this by the 
sweat of my brow. Oh, no, like you I collected it for the 
church and put it in my own pocket. Are you going to 
fail again soon ? 

BarssEGH. Heaven preserve me from it! 

Most. It would not be the first time. When you are dead they 
will shake whole sacks full of money in your grave for 
you. 

BarssEGH. Will you never stop? 

KHALI. Are you not ashamed to make such speeches? 

Most. Till you die I will not let you rest. As long as you live 
I will gnaw at you like a worm, for you deserve it for 
your villany. What! Haven’t you committed every crime? 
You robbed your brother of his inheritance; you cheated 
your partner; you have repudiated debts, and held others 
to false debts. Haven’t you set your neighbors’ stores on 
fire? If people knew everything they would hang you. 
But the world is stone-blind, and so you walk God’s earth 
in peace. Good-by! I would like to go to Ossep and 
warn him against you; for if he falls into your clutches 
he is lost. 


Scene IV 


BARSSEGH. Yes, yes; go and never come back. 

KHALI. I wish water lay in front of him and a drawn sword 
behind. 

BarssEGH. This fellow is a veritable curse! 

KHALI. Yes, he is, indeed. 

BarssecH. The devil take him! If he is going to utter such 
slanders, I hope he will always do it here, and not do me 
harm with outsiders. 

KHALI. You are to blame for it yourself. Why do you have 
anything to do with the good-for-nothing fellow? 

BarsseGH. There yougo! DoT have anything to do with him? 
He is always at my heels, like my own shadow. 

KHALI. Can’t you forbid him to enter your doors? 


116 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


BARSSEGH. So that he will not let me pass by in the streets? 
Do you want him to make me the talk of the town? 

Kuavi. Then don’t speak to him any more. 

BarssecGH. As if I took pleasure in it! It is all the same to him 
whether one speaks to him or not. 

KHALI. What are we to do with him, then? 

BARSSEGH [angrily]. Why do you fasten yourself on to me 
like a gadfly? Have I not trouble enough already? [Beat- 
ing his hands together.| How could you let him escape? 
You are good for nothing! | 

Kwai. What could I do, then, if you were stingy about the 
money? If you had promised the 10,000 rubles, you 
would have seen how easily and quickly everything would 
have been arranged. 

BarsseGH. If he insists upon so much he may go to the devil. 
For 10,000 rubles I will find a better man for my daughter. 

Kuar. I know whom you mean. Give me the money and I 
will arrange the thing to-day. 

BarssEGH [derisively|. Give it! How easily you can say it! 
Is that a mulberry-tree, then, that one has only to shake and 
thousands will fall from it? Don’t hold my rubles so 
cheaply ; for every one of them I have sold my soul twenty 
times. 

Kua. If I can only get sight of that insolent Salome, I'll 
shake a cart-load of dirt over her head. Only let her meet 
me! [Exit, left. 


Scene V 


BarssEGH [alone]. And you shall see what I will do! Only 
wait, my dear Ossep! I am getting a day of joy ready for 
you and you will shed tears as thick as my thumb. I have 
been looking for the chance a long time, and now fate has 
delivered you into my hands. You braggart, you shall see 
how you will lie at my feet. I am the son of the cobbler 
Matus. There are certain simpletons who shake their heads 
over those who had nothing and suddenly amount to some- 
thing. But I tell you that this world is nothing more than 
a great honey-cask. He who carries away the best part for 
himself, without letting the others come near it, he is the 


THE RUINED FAMILY 117 


man to whom praise and honor are due. But a man who 
stands aside, like Ossep, and waits till his turn comes is an 
ass. 


Enter Dartscho. 


BarsseGH. Ah, Dartscho! How quickly you have come! 

DartscHo. I met Micho just now, and he told me that you 
had sent for me. 

BarsseGH. I have something important to speak with you 
about. [He sits down.| Where were you just now? 
DartscHo. At George’s, the coal man. He owed us some 
money, and I have been to see him seven times this week 

on that account. 

BaARSSEGH. He is very unpunctual. But how does it stand? 
Has he paid? 

DartscHo. Of course! What do you take me for? I stayed 
in the store as if nailed there, and when a new customer 
came in I repeated my demand. There was nothing left 
for him to do but to pay me, for shame’s sake. 

BarSSEGH. That pleases me in you, my son. Go on like that 
and you will get on in the world. Look at me! There 
was a time when they beat me over the head and called 
me by my given name. Then they called me Barssegh, 
and finally “ Mr.” Barssegh. When I was as old as you 
are I was nothing, and now I am a man who stands for 
something. If my father, Matus, were still alive he would 
be proud of me. I tell you all this so that you will spare 
no pains to make yourself a master and make people for- 
get that you are the son of a driver. A son can raise up 
the name of his father; he can also drag it down into the 
dust. 

DartscHo, You see best of all what trouble I take, Mr. Bars- 
segh. When I open the store in the morning, I never wait 
until Micho comes, but I take the broom in my hand and 
sweep out the store. And how I behave with the cus- 
tomers, you yourself see. 

BarssecH. Yes, I see it; I see it, my son, and it is on that 
account I am so good to you. Only wait till next year and 
you shall be my partner. I will supply the money and 
you the labor. 


118 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


DartscHo. May God give you a long life for that! I seem 
to myself like a tree which you have planted. I hope I 
will still bear fruit and you will have your joy in me. Do 
you know that I have gotten rid of those damaged goods? 

BARSSEGH. Is it possible? 

DartscHo. It’s a fact. 

BaARSSEGH. To whom have you sold them? 

DartTscHo. To aman from Signach. I laid two good pieces 
on top so that he did not notice it. Let him groan now. 

BarsseGH. And how? On credit? 

DartscHo. Am I then crazy? Have I ever sold damaged 
goods on credit, that you make such a supposition? Of 
course I took something off for it, but made believe I only 
did it to please him. He paid me the full sum at once; and 
if he is now boasting how cheap he bought the goods, I 
hope he will sing my praises also. 

BarssEGH. Do you know, dear Dartscho, you are a fine 
fellow? Yes, I have always said that you would amount 
to something. 

DartscHo. God grant it! What commands have you, Mr. 
Barssegh? ‘There is no one in the store. 

BarssecH. Oh, right! I had almost forgotten. If Ossep 
Gulabianz comes to borrow money, give him nothing. 

DartscHo. What has happened? 

BarssEGH. I am terribly angry at him. 

DartscHo. And I have even more reason to be angry at him; 
he is altogether too stuck-up. But what has occurred? 

BarsseGH. I will show him now who I am. His whole busi- 
ness is just like a hayrick; a match is enough to set the 
whole thing ablaze. 

DartscHo. I would not be sorry for ten matches! Tell me 
what I can do about it? The rest I know already. 

BarssecH. Think of it! The fellow has snatched away a 
fine fat morsel from my very mouth. I had found an 
excellent husband for my daughter. For a whole week 
we carried on negotiations with him and everything was 
near final settlement when this Ossep came in and bid over 
us. On the very same day he betrothed his daughter to 
the man. 

DartscHo. The devil take him for it! 


i 


THE RUINED FAMILY 119 


BarssecH. And do you know, also, whose money he is going 
to use? It is my money he is going to give him. 

DartscHo. That is just it! That is it! 

BarssecH. Things look bad for his pocket. Now he is going 
to marry off his daughter and put himself in a tight place. 
Go, therefore, and get out an execution against him; 
otherwise nothing can be squeezed out of him. 

DartscHo. We shall see. I will go at once and demand our 
money. 

BarsseGH. I have already sent Micho, but I hardly believe 
he will give it up so easily. On that account I sent for you 
to find out someone who can help us. 

DartscHo. I know a lawyer who can manage so that in 
three hours they will put an attachment on his store. 
BARSSEGH. Go on so forever, dear Dartscho! Yes, I have 
long known that you were going to be the right sort of 

fellow! 

DartscHo. The apprentice of a right good master always gets 
on in the world. 

BARSSEGH. Go quickly then; lose no time. 

DartscHo. I will not waste an hour. 

BarsseGH. Go! May you succeed! 

[Exit Dartscho, middle door. 

BarssecH [alone]. Yes, yes, friend Ossep, now show what 
you can do! I would burn ten candles to have you in my 
power. [Exit, right, taking the account book. 


Scene VI 
Khali. Salome. 


Kuatt [entering from the left]. Such a bold creature I never 
saw before in my life! [Calling through the window:] 
Come in! come in! I pray! Do you hear, Salome? I 
am calling you. Come in here a moment [coming back 
from the window]. She is coming. Wait, you insolent 
thing! I will give you a setting-out such as no one has 
ever given you before! 

SALOME [dressed in the latest fashion, with a parasol in her 


120 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


hand; enters at middle door|. Why did you call me? 
Good-morning! How are you? [They shake hands. 

Kuaurt. Thank you. Pray sit down. [They both sit down.] 
So you have betrothed your daughter ? 

SALoME. Yes, dear Khali. God grant that we soon hear of 
your Nino’s like good-fortune! I betrothed her last even- 
ing. I found a good husband for her. He is as hand- 
some as a god. I can scarcely stand for joy! 

Kua. Yes, make yourself important about it! 

SALOME [offended]. What is this? What does it mean? 

Kua. You owed us a favor, and you have done it for us. 

SALOME. What have I done to you? 

KuHaAti. You could not do more, indeed. You have cheated 
me out of a son-in-law. Is not that enough? 

SALOME. But, my dear Khali, what kind of things are you 
saying to me? What do you mean by it? 

Kua. Be still! be still! I know well enough how it was. 

Satome. May I go blind if I know what you are talking 
about ! 

Kua. Didn’t you know very well that I wished to give my 
daughter to him? 

SatoMe. I don’t understand you! You said no earthly 
word to me about it. 

Kyat. Even if I have not said anything about it, someone 
has certainly told you of it. 

SALOME. No one has said a word about it. 

KHALI. She lies about it, beside! Isn’t that shameful ? 

SALOME. Satan lies. What are you accusing me of? 

Kuati. And you really did not know that I wished to give 
him my daughter? 

SALoME. And if I had known it? When a man wants to 
marry, they always speak of ten, and yet he marries only 
one. 

Kua. So you knew it very well? Why did you lie, then? 

SALOME. You are out of your head! How was I to find it 
out? Did you send word by anyone that you were going 
to give your daughter to the man? In what way am I to 
blame for it? You knew as much asI did. You treated 
with him just as I did and sent marriage brokers to him. 

Kati. I approached him first. 


THE RUINED FAMILY Iz4 


SALOME. O my dear, the flowers in the meadow belong not 
to those who see them first, but to those who pluck them. 

Kuaci. You did not wait. Perhaps I would have plucked 
them. 

SaLtoMe. And why didn’t you pluck them? 

Kuwait. You wouldn't let me. Do you think I do not know 
that you promised him more than we did? 

SALOME. May I go blind! Khali, how can you say that? 
ilHow much did you promise him? 

Kyat. How much did we promise him? Ha! ha! as 
though you did not know it! Eight thousand rubles. 
SALOME. Then you promised more than we did, for we can 

give him only 7,000. 

KHALI. You surely do not think me so stupid as to believe 
that ! 

SALOME. As sure as I wish my Nato all good fortune, what 
I say is true. 

Kwari. And you think that I believe you? 

SALOME. What? What do you say? Would I swear falsely 
about my daughter? 

Kwai, Of course it is so! Would he let my 8,000 go to 
take your 7,000? 

SALOME. I am not to blame for that. Probably your daugh- 
ter did not please him, since he did not want her. 

KuHALi. What fault have you to find with my daughter? As 
though yours were prettier, you insolent woman, you! 

SALOME [standing up]. You are insolent! Is it for this you 
called me in? Can your daughter be compared to my 
Nato? Is it my fault that your daughter has a wide 
mouth ? 

KuHaAti. You have a wide mouth yourself; and your forward 
daughter is not a bit prettier than mine! 

SALOME. What! you say she is forward? Everyone knows 
her as a modest and well-behaved girl, while everybody 
calls yours stupid. Yes, that is true; and if you want to 
know the truth, I can tell it to you—it is just on that ac- 
count that he would not have her. 

KHALI. Oh, you witch, you! You have caught the poor 
young man in your nets and deceived him. I would like 
to know where you are going to get the 7,000 rubles. 


i22 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


SALoMeE. ‘That is our affair. I would rather have broken my 
leg than to have come in here. 

Kua. He is up to the ears in debt and is going to give such 
a dowry! | 

SALOME [coming back]. Even if we are in debt, we have 
robbed nobody, as you have. 

Kua. [springing up]. ’Tis you who steal; you! You area 
thief! Look out for yourself that I do not tear the veil 
off your head, you wicked witch, you! 

SALOME [holding her veil toward her|. Try it once. I 
would like to see how you begin it. You have altogether 
too long a tongue, and are only the daughter-in-law of 
the cobbler Matus. 

Kuatrt. And what better are you? You are a gardener’s 
daughter, you insolent thing! 

SALOME. You are insolent, yourself! Do not think so much 
of yourself—everyone knows that you have robbed the 
whole world, and only in that way have gotten up in the 
world. ) 

Kua. Oh, you good-for-nothing! 

[Throws herself on Salome and tears her veil off. 

SALOME. Oh! oh! [Gets hold of Khali’s hair. 

Kyat. Oh! oh! 

SALOME. I[’ll pull all your hair out! 

[ Astonished, she holds a lock in her hand. 


Enter Ossep. 


Ossep. What do I see? 

KHALI [tearing the lock from Salome’s hand]. May I beblind! 

| Eait embarrassed. 

SALOME [arranging her veil]. Oh, you monkey, you! 

Ossep. What is the meaning of this? 

SALOME. God only knows how it came to this. I was walking 
quietly in the street and she called me in and tore the ve’ 
from my head because I, as she said, took her daughter . 
suitor away from her. 

Ossep. It serves you right! That comes from your having 
secrets from me and promising him 7,000 rubles instead 
of 6,000, 


THE RUINED FAMILY 123 


SALOME. I would rather have broken a leg than come into this 
horrid house. I did it only out of politeness. I wish these 
people might lose everything they have got [pinning her 
veil]. At any rate, I punished her for it by pulling off her 
false hair. If she tells on herself now, she may also tell 
about me. She got out of the room quickly, so that no one 
would find out that her hair was as false as everything else. 

Ossep. It would be best for us if the earth opened and swal- 
lowed us up. 

SALOME [crying]. Am I, then, so much to blame here? 

Ossep. Really, you look splendid! Go! go! that no one sees 
you here. It is not the first time that you have put me in 
a dilemma. Go! and pray God to change noon into mid- 
night and make the streets dark, so that no one sees that 
you have a torn veil on your head. 

SALOME [wiping away her tears]. God only knows everything 
I have to suffer from you! 

Ossep [alone]. Great heaven! how this world is arranged? 
When one trouble comes to a man a second comes along, 
too, and waits at his door. When I am just about ready 
to cope with the first, in comes the second and caps the cli- 
max. I don’t know which way to turn with all my debts; 
and now this women’s quarrel will be laid at my door. 


Scene VII 


BARSSEGH [coming in, angry]. I will show him that I ama 
man! 

Ossep. Good-morning! 

BarsseGH. I want neither “ good-morning” nor any other 
wish from you. You have, I suppose, come to help your 
wife. Give me a blow, too, so the measure will be full. 
This is surely the interest on the money you owe me. 

Ossep. Calm yourself. What, indeed, do you want? 

BArRSSEGH. Do you, then, believe that I will overlook my wife’s 
hair being pulled out? That I will not pardon. 

Ossep. What is there to pardon? Your wife tore my wife’s 
veil from her head. 

BarssecH. A veil is not hair. 


‘ 


524 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


OssEPp. For heaven’s sake, stop! Is a women’s spat our 
affair ? 

BARSSEGH. Sa what you wish, but I will do what pleases 
“ne. 

Ossep. Calm yourself; calm yourself. 

BarsseGH. Yes, yes; I will calm you, too. 

Ossep. Believe me; it is unworthy of you. 

BarssEGH. She has torn her veil, he says. What is a veil, 
then? A thing that one can buy, and at most costs two 
rubles. 

Ossep. The hair was also not her own. Why do you worry 
yourself about it? For a two-ruble veil she tore a two- 
kopeck band. The band is there, and she can fasten the 
hair on again. " 

BARSSEGH. No, you can’t get out of it that way. I will not 
pardon her for this insolence. 

OsseEp [aside]. Great heaven! 

BarRSSEGH. You'll see! you'll see! 

Ossep. Do what you will! I did not come to you on that ac- 
count. ‘You sent for me by Micho? 

BARSSEGH. Yes, you are right. Have you brought me my 
money? Give it to me, quick! 

Ossep. How you speak tome! Am TI your servant, that you 
speak so roughly? You surely do not know whom you 
have before you. Look out, for if I go for you, you will 
sing another tune. 

BarssEGH. That has not happened to me yet! He owes me 
money, and even here he makes himself important! 
Ossep. Do you think because I owe you money I shall stand 
your insults? I speak politely to you, and I demand the 

same from you. 

BarsseGH. Enough of that! Tell me whether you have 
brought the money or not. 

Ossep. Have I ever kept back from you any of your money? 
Why should I do it to-day? 

BARSSEGH. Then give it to me now. 

Ossep. You said at that time—— 

BarsseGH. I know nothing of that time. 

Ossep. What is the matter with you? ‘You speak as if ina 
dream. 


THE RUINED FAMILY 125 


BarsseGH. Whether I speak as in a dream or not, give me the 
money, and have done with it. 

Ossep [takes a chair and sits down]. You are mistaken, my 
dear Mr. Barssegh; you are mistaken. Sit down, pray. 

BARSSEGH [ironically]. Thank you very much. 

Ossep. You will surely not take back your word? 

BarsseGH. Hand over the money. 

Ossep. What has happened to you? You speak like a mad- 
man. 

BarSSEGH. It is all the same to me however I speak. 

OssEp. When I gave you the 5,000 rubles that time, did not 
you say that I was to pay the rest in a month? 

BARSSEGH [sitting down]. And if I did say so, what does it 
amount to? I need it now. 

OssEp. You should have said so at the time and I would not 
have paid out my money in other ways. How comes it 
that you demand it so suddenly? I am no wizard, I am 
sure, to procure it from the stars for you. 

BARSSEGH. You may get it wherever you want to. I need it, 
and that settles it. 

Ossep. Just heaven! Why did you give me a month's grace 
and reckon on an additional twelve per cent. for it? 

BarsseGH. What kind of grace? Have you anything to show 
for it? 

Ossep. Isn’t your word enough? Why do we need a paper 
in addition? 

BarssEGH. I didn’t give you my word. 

Ossep. What? You did not give it? You admitted it just 
a few minutes ago. 

BarssEGH. No, I said nothing about it. 

Ossep [standing]. My God! what do I see and hear? You 
are a merchant and tread your word under foot. Shame 
on you! [Takes him by the arm and leads him to the mur- 
ror.| Look! look at your face! Why do you turn pale? 

BarssEcGH. Let me go! 

Ossep [holding him fast by the sleeve]. How can you be so 
unscrupulous? Look! How pale your lips are! 

BarssecH. Let me go! [Freeing himself.| You act exactly 
as though you were the creditor. 

Ossep. No, youarethe creditor. I would rather be swallowed 


126 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


up alive by the earth than be such a creditor as you are. 
What do you think you will be in my eyes after this? 

BarsseGH. I tell you, hand out my money or I will lay your 
note before the court immediately! I would only like to 
know where you are going to get the dowry for your daugh- 
ter. You will pay over my money to your son-in-law, will 
you, and give me the go-by? 

OssEp. Give yourself no trouble! Even if you should beg me 
now, I would not keep your money. To-morrow at this 
time you shall have it, and then may the faces turn black 
of those who still look at you. 

BARSSEGH. I want it at once. 

Ossep. Then come with me. You shall have it. The sooner 
a man is rid of a bad thing, the better it is. Give me the 
note! No, don’t give it to me, for you don’t trust me. 
You are not worthy of trusting me. Take it yourself and 
come with me. We will go at once to the bazaar, sell it, 
then you can have your money. I may lose something by 
it. It makes no difference. It is easier to bear this mis- 
fortune than to talk to you. Do you hear? Shall we go? 

BarssEGH. What do you mean? 

Ossep. Get the note, I tell you! Don’t you hear? 

BarssecH. What kind of a note? 

OssEp. Rostom’s note. 

BARSSEGH. Rostom’s note? What is this note to you? 

Ossep. What is ittome? It is no word, indeed, that you can 
deny. It is a document. 

BarssEGH. What is it to you that I have this document in my 
hands? That is mine and Rostom’s business. 

Ossep. Yours and Rostom’s business! [Pauses.] It is, I 

see, not yet enough that you lie. You are a thief and a 

robber beside. What people say of you is really true; 

namely, that you have robbed everybody, and by this means 
have acquired your wealth. Yes, it is true that you have 
ruined twenty-five families; that you have put out their 
candle and lighted yours by it. Now I see, for the first 
time, that everything that people say about you is true. 

Now I believe, indeed, that these chairs, this sofa, this mir- 

ror, your coat, your cane—in a word, every article that you 

call yours—represents some person you have robbed. Take 


THE RUINED FAMILY 127 


my bones and add to them. Make the measure full. You 
have made your conscience a stone and will hear nothing ; 
but I tell you, one day it will awake, and every object that 
lies or stands here will begin to speak and hold up to you 
your villanies. Then you can go and justify yourself be- 
fore your Maker. Shame upon him who still calls you a 
human being! [Exit by the middle door. 
BARSSEGH. Ha! ha! ha! [Exit at the right. 


CURTAIN, 


ACT THIRD 


Scene I—Qssep’s House 


Nato [stands before the mirror elegantly dressed, and, while 
she prinks, hums a European melody. Then she draws 
out of her pocket a litile photograph and speaks to herself 
while looking in the mirror|. O my treasure! my treas- 
ure! [Presses the photo to her breast and kisses it.| Mon 
cher! Come; we will dance. [Dances around the table. | 
Tra-la-la, Tra-la-la. [Sits down at the right.| Alexander ; 
my Alexander; dear Alexander! Yes, you are really an 
angel. Why are you so handsome? You have black eyes 
and I also have black. Then arched eyebrows just like 
me. [Touches her eyebrows.| <A pretty little mustache, 
which I lack. Which of us is more beautiful, I or you? 
You are handsomest ; no, lam handsomest [springing up]. 
We will see at once. 

[Looks at herself in the mirror and then at the photo- 
graph. Enter Alexander at the middle door. 

Nato [without noticing Alexander|. No, you are the more 
beautiful ! [Kisses the photograph. 

[ Alexander approaches softly and kisses Nato. 

Nato [frightened]. Oh! 

' ALEXANDER. No, you are the more beautiful, Natalie, dear. 
Ma chére Nathalie! 

Nato. O mon chér Alexandre! How you frightened me! 

ALEXANDER [putting his arm around her]. Let me kiss you 
again, and your fright will pass away. [Kisses her.] 
Give me a kiss just once! 

Nato [kissing him]. There, you have one. 

ALEXANDER. Well, I ought to allow you to kiss me. Am I 
not worth more than that piece of paper? 

[Takes her by the hand; they sit down on sofa at the right. 

Nato, They have come to congratulate us. 

128 


THE RUINED FAMILY 129 


ALEXANDER. Yes, your grandmother, your aunts, and your 
cousins. Nato, shall you give evening parties like this? 

Nato [smiling]. Ha! ha! ha! No such soirées as this, my 
dear Alexander. Two evenings every month we will give 
little dances, either on Tuesdays or Thursdays. Which is 
better? Do you not think, Alexander, that Thursday will 
be best ? 

ALEXANDER [with a grimace]. As you wish, chére Nathalie. 
If you like, you can give a soirée every week. 

Nato. No, twice a month is better. Sophie, who is now 
Madame Jarinskaja, gives only two soirées in a month. 

ALEXANDER. Very well, Nato dear. 

Nato. That is agreed, then. And every Thursday we will 
dance at the Casino. [Alexander makes another grimace. | 
Mind, now! every Thursday. 

ALEXANDER. Do you like to visit the Casino? 

Nato [laying her hand on his shoulder|. Who doesn’t like to 
visit it? Is there another place where one can amuse one’s 
self better? The beautiful long salon! the boudoir! the 
beautiful music and the rich costumes! How beautiful 
they all are! [Embracing Alexander.| We will dance 
together, and when we are tired, we will go into the mirror- 
room and rest ourselves and talk and laugh. 

ALEXANDER. And then we will dance again and rest ourselves, 
and talk and laugh again. 

Nato. It will besplendid! [Kisses him.| I will dress beau- 
tifully a Ja mode, so that everyone will say, “ Look! look! 
what a charming woman Madame Marmarow is!” And 
then, dear Alexander, we will subscribe for a box at the 
theatre for Fridays. 

ALEXANDER [making another grimace aside|. She’s piling it 
on. 

Nato. And do you know where? In the upper tier at the 
left, near the foyer. 

ALEXANDER. Wouldn’t it be better to subscribe for two even- 
ings aweek? 

Nato. Wouldn’t it cost too much? 

ALEXANDER. What has that to do with it? Do you think I 
could deny you any pleasure? No! no! you shall have 
everything. 

9 


130 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


Nato [embracing him]. Chér Alexandre! do you really love 
me so much? 

ALEXANDER. I cannot tell you at all how much I love you. 
Right at our first meeting I fell in love with you! 

Nato. I don’t believe it! I don’t believe it! All young men 
talk so! 

ALEXANDER. Ha! ha! ha! Do you think I am like them? 
With them the tongues have nothing to do with the heart; 
but my tongue speaks what is here! 

[Strikes himself on the breast. 

Nato [ironically]. Iknow! I know! If I had no dowry you 
would not marry me. 

ALEXANDER. Nato dear, you wrong me! machére! As if the 
dowry made any difference! 7 donc! 

Nato. Then you really love me so much? 

ALEXANDER. Very, very much, Nato dear. You can put me 
to the test if you will. 

Nato. Do you know, my piano is not fit to tise! 

ALEXANDER [smoothing his hair—aside]. Something new 
again. 

Nato. Buy me a new piano. To-day I saw one at a store; 
it cost 500 rubles. 

ALEXANDER. Five hundred rubles! You cannot buy a decent 
piano for that! 

Nato. Dear Alexander! 

ALEXANDER. Be patient awhile, Nato dear. One of my friends 
brought a piano from abroad that cost 1,000; yes, even 
1,500 rubles. 

Nato. My sweetheart; my dear sweetheart! [Kissing him.] 
I will come right back. [Rises.] 1 must go and prepare 
for our reception or mamma will be angry. Tra-la-la. 

[Exit at left. 

ALEXANDER [alone, springing up]. Ha! ha! ha! soirées, balls 
at the club, box at the theatre, dresses and ornaments after 
the latest fashion! Am I a millionaire? I would have 
nothing against it if I had the money to do it. She acts 
as though she was going to bring 50,000 rubles dowry into 
the house. No, Natalie, that will all come later. In ten 
or twenty years, perhaps, I will set up a carriage; but it is 
not even to be thought of now. Indeed, I don’t know 


THE RUINED FAMILY 131 


where it will lead to if she makes such demands on me every 
day. It will lead to quarrels and unpleasantness, and it 
will be all up with my economizing. No, indeed, Natalie, 
it will be no easy thing to satisfy you. Why did I not 
think of this sooner? Let her talk, and demand what she 
will. I will do what pleases me. 

Nato [enter right; speaks to someone behind the scenes]. 1 
will come at once. I am coming. Come, Alexander, let 
us go into the garden. Mamma must go upstairs, and the 
guests will be all alone in the garden. 

ALEXANDER. Iam waiting for your father, Natodear. Ihave 
something important to discuss with him. 

Nato. Why, we will soon return, and by that time father will 
be home. Do you want to sit here alone? 

ALEXANDER. Well, we will go. 

Nato. Come! come! I want to introduce you to my coquet- 
tish aunt. 

[Mimics her while making a courtesy, and makes faces. 
Alexander, shaking his head, goes out with Nato 
noisily through middle door. 


Scene II 
Salome. Chacho. 


Cuacuo. No, indeed, Salome. She behaves too boldly. You 
must give her a warning. Such self-confidence I have 
never before seen in a girl. 

SALOME. That is alla matter of fashion! What is to be done? 

[ Shutting the cards. 

Cuacuo [seating herself]. When one thinks how the times 
have changed, one grows dizzy! When I was engaged, 
my love, I dared not open my mouth; it was as if they had 
put a lock on it. Indeed, I dared not look anyone in the 
face, even, and kept my eyes always cast down, as if glued 
fast to the floor. 

Satome. How could anyone endure all that? The eyes are 
made to look with, I hope, and the tongue to speak! J 
wouldn’t have borne it. It is well that those times are 
past. I should die of such a life. 


332 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


Cuacuo. Oh, your present times are the true ones! Isn’t this 
shameful, now, what goes on here? All the money that 
the husband can make in a week, the wife loses at play in 
a single evening. Is that widow, the stout one, going to 
play with you? She is surely more than fifty years old. 

Satome. Of course! we wouldn’t play at all without her. 

CHacHo. That is the best of all. Why, she has a married 
daughter as old as you are! 

SALOME. What of that? Whoever has money can always 
play. But what do you say to the wife of blind Gigoli? 
She hasn’t enough to eat, but gives herself airs before us 
just the same. 

CuacHo. Don’t talk to me about her! A few weeks ago she 
pawned a silver pitcher to one of our neighbors for five 
rubles without her husband’s knowledge. God punished 
her for it, for that same evening she lost it all at cards. I 
should like to know how she is going to redeem the pitcher. 

SALOME [arranging her dress before the mirror]. Yes, yes; 
no one can take her measure better than I. 

[Enter Ossep. 

Ossep [angrily]. And what have you gotten ready for again? 

SALOME. What was to be done? Look and see how many 
guests there are in the garden! 

Ossep. It was very wrong of them to come here. ‘Has no one 
invited them, then? They should have asked me first. 
SALOME. You area singular being! We have betrothed our 
daughter and they were obliged to come and congratulate 

us. 

Ossep. Congratulate! As though may joy went to their hearts! 
On the contrary, they would enjoy it if I had a misfortune; 
they could put their heads together and criticise and laugh 
at me. 

CuacHo. What are you so ill-humored about? For the last 
two days you have been intolerable. 

Ossep. If I could unbosom myself to you and show you my 
heart, you would comprehend what the cause of it is. 

CuacHo. God protect you from all evil! 

Ossep. Am JI not right? Tell me yourself! This is not the 
time for card-playing. Why have they come, then? If 
they wished to congratulate us, they could come separately. 


THE RUINED FAMILY 133 


How does it happen that they all thought of us at once? 
Perhaps each has sent word to the other that Salome has 
betrothed her daughter and they have all taken advantage 
of the opportunity to come. Of course only for the sake 
of those damned cards! ‘This one or that one has probably 
been invited by her [pointing to Salome|. She sent word 
to them, “Come tous, I pray! X and Zare already here.” 
[To Salome:] Say, isn’t that so? 

SaLomME. What nonsense he talks! Ought they not to know 
at your uncle’s house that we have betrothed our daughter ? 
I was obliged to give them some information about it, was 
I not? 

Ossep. And to whom beside? 

SALOME. Whom else? Your cousins. And I have just sent 
for your sister-in-law. 

Ossep [anxiously|. For what purpose? She could have come 
another time just as well. 

SALOME. How useless it is to talk so! You understand noth- 
ing at all about the matter. Your relatives would take of- 
fence in every possible way if I did not invite them. They 
would not speak to me for a year! 

Ossep. Great heaven! I wish they were struck blind! [Sits 
down and pulls at the end of the table-cloth.| I would 
take pleasure in throwing them all out! 

SALOME. I have no time to dispute with you. 

[Exit at left, angry. 

OssEp. Great heaven! have women been created only to bleed 
the men? 

CuacuHo. Don’t excite yourself so, dear Ossep. What you 
say is in every way pure facts. But you must overlook 
something now and then. It can’t be helped now; they 
are all here ; you cannot chase them out of the house. The 
whole city would be stirred up about it. 

Ossep. And what will people say when to-morrow or the 
day after my creditors come and chase me out of my house? 

Cuacuo. Oh, don’t talk about such things! 

OsseEp [sitting down at the card-table]. That’s easily said. 
But let me tell you, I feel as though the house was going to 
fall down on top of me. 

CuacHo. What has happened, Ossep? 


134 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


Ossep. They say Barssegh Leproink has brought action 
against me. 

CuacHo. What? Brought action against you? 

Ossep. I owe him money, and on that account he holds the 
knife at my throat. 

CuacHo. God bless me! 

Ossep. The wicked fellow has my note, and another security 
beside, and yet he will not wait. 

CuacHo. His match for wickedness cannot be found in the 
whole world. 

OsseEp. No, not another such miserable scoundrel! I expect 
every moment to be notified, and have no idea where I can 
get the money. Everyone I have asked to help me has re- 
fused me. I can borrow no more on my note, and I cannot 
sell my goods at half price. That everyone must under- 
stand. They all show their claws as soon as they find out 
the position Iam in. Salome is to blame for all this; the 
7,000 rubles she promised is the cause of it all. I would 
like to know who will pay them to him now. 

CuacHo. You talk nonsense! You will make your daughter 
unhappy forever, Ossep. 

Ossep. Iam still more unhappy myself. But let us see what 
the coming day brings forth. I still have hope of one. 
Perhaps he will supply me with money. 

CuacHo. How could you trust the scamp so blindly? Is such 
want of thought consistent with reason? 

Ossep. What is the use of reason inthis? I have always said 
I could not stand the expense that now everybody assumes. 
If a man conducts his business honestly, he makes little 
profit ; and as for a dishonest business, I am not fit for that! 
So I have suffered one reverse after another; and where 
I was most vulnerable I have been hit at last. 

CHacuo. Heavens! what do I hear? Why don’t I sink into 

the earth? 

OssEp. In our line of trade only a few persons carry on their 
business with their own money. Most of us have to bor- 
row. When I sell goods to one, I pay my debt to the other. 
I sell goods to the third and pay to the fourth; and so it 
goes in a circle, like a wheel drawing water, until one falls 
in the hands of a man who draws the needle out of the knit- 


THE RUINED FAMILY 135 


ting and everything falls in pieces. Who is in a position 
to fight against such conditions? One must pay the store 
rent and the clerk’s salary, and beside that the interest on 
the working capital. Then there are the goods that are 
spoiled or stolen—and here at home! [Striking the cards. | 
All this rubbish and more beside! [Striking the table 
again.| And the women are to blame for all this; if my 
wife had not promised 7,000 rubles, without my knowledge, 
the betrothal would not have taken place, and this bad luck 
would not have come to me. But where does one find 
among our women insight and forethought? For model 
women give me some foreign countries. There the women 
stand by the men in everything: the wife of a cook is a 
cook ; the wife of a writer, a writer; the wife of a merchant 
is in every case a merchant. They earn jointly and spend 
jointly. With us the man is here only to make money for 
them, so that they [striking the table] may kill time with 
foolish things like this. 

CHACcHO. Say, rather, that times are changed ; for the men also 
sit at the club all day and play cards. 

Ossep. Ho! ho! As though women did not play cards also! 
Formerly the cards were solely our diversion ; but they have 
taken them away from us. Don’t worry yourself; with 
God’s help they will be learning to play billiards. Why do 
you dwell upon the fact that the men play cards? One in 
a thousand plays ; while of a thousand women, nine hundred 
play. Men are always more moderate. They see that the 
times are hard, and have given up most of their earlier 
pleasures. Where are the banquets that used to be given, 
one after another? Where are the drinking-places where 
the music played? They have given them up; and the 
women are just like they were, only worse. To-day they 
arrange a picnic, to-morrow a little party, and soon. The 
men stand gaping at them, and the children are left to the 
servants. If I could take the law into my own hands, I’d 
soon set them right. [Paces to and fro in anger. 

CuHaAcuo [rising, aside]. Heis right. All that he says is pure 
truth. [Exit left. 


136 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


Scene III 
Ossep. Then Alexander. 


OssEep. O dear! O dear! 
[Stands near fireplace; rests head on hand and re- 
mains motionless. 
ALEXANDER [enter right]. You have come, father? [Silence 
—comes near Ossep.| Father. 
Ossep. Ah! Alexander [offering his hand]. Please sit down. 
Have you just come? 
ALEXANDER. No; I have been here a long time. I was in the 


garden. 
OssEp. What is the news? | Both sit down. 
ALEXANDER. Nothing, except that I wish to have a wedding 
next week. 


OssEep. So soon? 

ALEXANDER. Yes; my chief goes soon to Petersburg, and I 
want him to be at the wedding. 

Ossep. And can’t we wait till he comes back? 

ALEXANDER. That would be too long. 


Ossep. Very well. As you wish. 

ALEXANDER [stammering|. But—my dear father 

Ossep. Iunderstand;I understand. You want me to pay over 
the money at once? 

ALEXANDER. Yes, my dear father, if it is possible. 

Ossep. I am sorry to confess that at the present moment I 
have no money at hand. You must wait a little. If you 
wish to marry without money, that is your affair. 

ALEXANDER. You amaze me! 

Ossep. It is better for me to tell you this than to deceive you. 
You know the law to some extent. Tell me, if I owe 
someone money on a note, can my creditor bring action 
against me and put an execution on me without having 
me called before the court? 

ALEXANDER. Is the note attested by a notary? 

OssEp. Yes. 

ALEXANDER. He has the right to come to your house and 
have everything put under seal. 

Ossep. Without first bringing me into court? 


THE RUINED FAMILY 137 


ALEXANDER. Yes, without court proceedings. 

OssEp. But if he has received on account of this debt the note 
of a third person? 

ALEXANDER. That is another thing. Have you a receipt 
for it? 

Ossep. No; but I can take my oath on it. 

‘ALEXANDER. According to law you must first pay the money 
and then produce proofs that you gave him the other 
document. 

Ossep [excited]. Is that true? 

ALEXANDER, Yes, it is so. 

Ossep [wringing his hands and springing up]. Then I am 
ruined. [A silence. Nato’s voice is heard outside.] Alex- 
ander, they are calling you. 

ALEXANDER [approaching Ossep]. What is it? For God’s 
sake tell me the truth. 

Ossep, There, there. Go out first. They are calling you. 

ALEXANDER [aside, taking his hat]. So far as I see, I am 
ruined also. [ Exit. 

Ossep [alone]. What do I not suffer! If they really come 
here I shall perish through shame. Where can I find so 
much money in such a hurry? One must have time for 
it, and that fellow may come to-day even—perhaps this 
minute. Then I am lost—who will trust me then? My 
creditors will tie a rope around my neck and prevent me 
from saying a word in my own behalf. “ Pay us,” they 
will cry; “pay us!” O Salome, Salome! 


Enter Gewo. 


Ossep. There he is. 

Gewo. Good-evening, Ossep. 

Ossep. You have come, too. You want your money, too?. 
Yes, choke me; double my debt; say that I owe you, not 
2,000 rubles, but 4,000. Speak! You are my creditor; 
speak! Have no pity on me. You want your money— 
why do you wait, then? Slay me; tear my heart out of 
my body; hack me in pieces and sell it piece by piece, so 
that your money shall not be lost. [Gewo wipes his 
eyes.| Weep, weep, for your money is lost. I am bank- 
rupt—bankrupt ! 


138 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


GeEwo [embracing Ossep]. Dear Ossep, dear Ossep! 

OssEp. You say “dear” tome? Yet you are my creditor. 

GeEwo. Take courage; be a man! 

Ossep. What kind ofaman? I ama good-for-nothing ; I have 
lost my good name [weeping]. My good name is gone. 
[Wipes his eyes. | 

Gewo. God is merciful, dear Ossep. 

Ossep. God and heaven have taken their mercy from me. 
You see now where the marriage of my daughter has led 
me? If I could at least pay you everything I owe you— 
that I must do at any price. 

Gewo. What are you saying, Ossep? If I had the means I 
would go on your bond. Why should I be your friend 
otherwise ? 

Ossep. If you had money, dear Gewo, you would not be my 
friend, nor have such a good heart. Stay poor as you are, 
so that I shall not lose your friendship. Only your 
sympathy is left me in this world. I would not like to 
lose your friendship. In this one day I have suffered 
everything. No one has shown interest in me; no one has 
given proof of his sympathy—neither my uncle, nor my 
brother, nor my nephew. When they saw I was near my 
last breath, they all forsook me and shut the door in my 
face. 

GEwo. Come with me; perhaps we will find help somewhere. 

Ossep. There can be no more talk of help. 

Gewo. Come, come; there is still a way out. 

OssEp. What way out can there be? 

Gewo. Come, come; let us not delay. 

OssEp. But tell me how is it to be managed? 

Gewo. Come, come! I will tell you on the way. 

Ossep. What you say sounds very strange; tell me what it 
is. Speak, what has occurred? Don’t fear! Don’t spare 
me! Whatever happens cannot be worse than what has 

/  happened:; they have already sent a bullet into my heart, 
and what worse can they do to me, except tear open my 
breast and take my heart out? Speak; what is it? Have 
they put seals on my store? 

Gewo. Come and you will see. 

Ossep. They have put seals on it, then? 


THE RUINED FAMILY 139 


Gewo. I tell 
Ossep. You are ruined, Ossep. [Rushes to the table, seizes 
the box and scatters the cards; some fall on the floor.| 


Now you may play; now you may play. [ Baxti. 
Gewo. Too bad; too bad about him! [Follows him. 
Scene IV 


Enter Salome, Martha, Nino, Pepel, and many well-dressed 
ladies, followed by two footmen carrying candelabra and 
lamps, which they put on the table. 

SALOME. Take seats, please. The cards are already here. 

MartHa. How pretty it is, isn’t it? The cards are already 
dealt. 

[The ladies converse smilingly with one another. 

SALOME [stepping forward and noticing the cards on the floor]. 
What is this? Who can have done it? 

MartuHa. Probably the cats ran over the table. 

SALOME. I cannot think how it could have happened! Please 
sit down. 


Enter Nato and her friends. 


SALOME [collecting the cards}. Whocan have done it? Nato, 
did you do it? 

Nato. No, mamma, I did not touch them. 

SALOME [to the guests]. Sit down, I beg. 

[All the guests sit down at the table, Nato and her 
friends sit on the other side of the stage. Salome, 
standing, deals the cards which the guests hand 
one to the other. Then they pay in the stakes to 
Salome, which she lays on the table in front of her. 


Enter Alexander. 


Nato [going to meet Alexander]. Alexander, why were you 
so long? 

ALEXANDER. I was obliged to be [/eading Nato aside ex- 
citedly, and in a whisper:| I have something to say to you. 

Nato [in a whisper]. What makes your hand tremble? 

ALEXANDER. They have brought action against your father 
in the courts. 


140 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


Nato. What! For what reason? 

ALEXANDER. Because of debts. 

Nato. Who told you so? 

ALEXANDER. Your father himself. 

Nato [laughing aloud]. Ha! ha! ha! [Whispering:] My 
father has no debts. 

ALEXANDER. Well, he told me so himself. 

Nato. He was joking. Don’t believe him. 

[Goes over to her friends, laughing. 

ALEXANDER. Well, I can’t make it out. I am not so stupid, 
however. Until I have the money in my hands I will not 
cross this threshold again. 

SALOME. Let us begin. [Guests begin to play. 


Scene V 
Enter Chacho. 


CHACHO [coming from left]. Get this stuff out of the way. 

SALOME. What is the matter? What has happened? 

CuacHo. What wastohappen? Weareruined. [Behind the 
scenes are heard threatening voices:| “ Here! Yes! No.” 
[Then Ossep’s voice:] “ Come in, come in.” 

Cuacuo [to Salome]. Do you not hear them? 


Enter Barssegh through middle door. 


BarsseGH. This is really splendid! I work for my daily 
bread, and you illuminate your house on my money. 
CuHaAcuHo [to Salome]. Now you have it. 
SALOME [rising]. Are you mad? Show him out. 
BARSSEGH. I will show you pretty soon who is to be shown out. 
SALOME. Alexander, show this man out. 
ALEXANDER [to Barssegh]. What do you want, sir? How 
can you indulge in such insolence? 
BarsseGH. That is not your affair, sir! I demand my money. 
Demand yours also if you can. You will be obliged to wait 
a long while for it. 
Cuacuo [to Barssegh]. Have you no conscience? 
BarsseGH. I want my money, and nothing more. 


THE RUINED FAMILY 141 


Enter Ossep, Gewo, a sheriff and his secretary, Dartscho, and 
several others. 


Ossep [opening the door with both hands as he enters|. Come 
in! come in! [The others follow him.| Play, play and 
laugh as much as you will over my misfortunes! 

Cuacuo [aside]. Now it is all over with us! 

SALOME. Tell me, for God’s sake, the meaning of this. 

Ossep. God will judge you and me also. [To sheriff and 
others:] Come, make your inventory, put your seals on 
everything—the house, the furniture, and on the cards, 
too. 

BarSSEGH. Make an inventory of everything. 

[The sheriff lists furniture in the background and 
puts a ticket on each piece. The guests assemble, 
frightened, on the left side of the table. 

SALOME [beating her head]. Good heavens! 

MarTHA. This is a disgrace for us as well. 

CuHacuo [in a low voice to Martha]. You at least should be 
silent. 

OssEp [pointing to Barssegh]. He has stripped me of my 
honor. Now you will honor and esteem him. He will 
arrange for your parties. Yes, he, the man who takes 
the shirt from my back and possesses himself of all my 
property. 

ALEXANDER [aside]. I have my sister to thank for all this, 
who dragged me into this house. 

Ossep [tronically]. Alexander, look for a dowry elsewhere, 
for I can no longer give my daughter one. 

ALEXANDER [angry]. What, you deride me as well! I don't 
belong to your class, sir! 

Ossep. And has it come to this! 

ALEXANDER [taking Mis hat]. I have not acquired my present 
dignity to lose it through you. 

Ossep. Ha! ha!ha! His dignity! 

ALEXANDER [coming near Nato]. I have loved you truly, 
Miss Nato, but I must give you up. I am not to blame for 
it. Farewell. [Goes to the door. 

[Barssegh laughs for joy. 

OssEp [approaching Salome, who stands dismayed, takes her 
by the arm and points to the departing Alexander]. 
There goes your official! 


%42 ARMENIAN LITERATURE 


NATO [standing at the left near the sofa]. Alexander! Alex- 
ander! [Exit Alexander.| Dear Alexander. 

[Sitting down on the sofa, begins to cry. 

SALOME [in a low tone, striking her brow with both hands}. 
Why doesn’t ihe earth open and swallow me? 

OssEPp [to Salome]. Now you are punished, are you not? 
[Zurning to Barssegh:]| Take it all, now! Satisfy your- 
self! [Takes off his coat.| Take this also! [ Throws 
it to Barssegh.] Yes, take it! [Takes his cap from the 
table and throws it to Barssegh.] Make off with this 
also; I need it no longer. 

[Runs to and fro as if distracted. 

BARSSEGH [in a low voice]. Keep on giving! 

[Turns to sheriff and speaks softly to him. 

Ossep [taking up different articles from card table and throw- 
ing them on the floor]. Take these also! Take these 
also! [Taking a lighted candelabra and smashing it on 
the foor| Stick that also down your throat! 

SEVERAL OF THE GugEsts. The poor fellow is losing his wits. 

[Nato crying; her friends comfort her. Salome faints. 

CuHAcHO. Ossep! My dear Ossep! 

Gewo [embracing Ossep]. Be calm, dear Ossep. You be- 
have like a madman. 

OssEp [after a pause]. Gewo, I was mad when I settled in 
this city. This life is too much for me; it was not for me. 
I am ruined. I am a beggar. He is to be praised who 
comes off better than I. [ Exit. 

SALOME [with her hand on her brow sinks down on the sofa, 
groaning loudly]. Ah! 

GEwo. Poor Ossep! 

BARSSEGH [turns from Dartscho, to whom he has been speak- 
ing, to the sheriff}. What are you gazing around for, 
sir? Keep on with your writing. 

[Sheriff looks at Barssegh in disgust, sits down by 
card table and writes. 

MarTHA [to the guests]. We have nothing more to look for 
here. [Aside:] A charming set! 

[Goes toward middle door; some ladies follow; 
others stand offended. 

Cracuo [raising her eyes]. Would that I had died long ago, 
so that I had not lived to see this unfortunate day! 


CURTAIN. 


ii, y, 


BN 


, f 
Lhe 
LAE. 


it 
‘ Athi gy 7 
Au peat) nn 
alti : Hes ch re 


eit) ( 
4s 
ane ¥ iN 


a ee 


- ~—— 
"= 


AN Wyre ni 


mY ‘ i 
fae oe mie 


‘4 


TORE EAS 
avd a 
at ‘ 


My 
ae 
WAR) 


i 
a 


i j 
ve 
An 


rua 
f 4 


, ah i) i Ay 
as } we A PURO BIN AL te NICK ay 
ep i ea) */} ; ii nr 


LR a ; 
Pi suf 


<a 
ya 
Pars 


, 
ue 
: 4 


Pays yr. 
AN oo 


Pra ee aN ay A 
yi A . Md aN A, 


' * 
+ ANY 


a " <§ tT 
ky ae 


, Vite i 


WA 64 ear 
yay} yee t 
VARA a” 
Vas LOA RAL 

. . yy 
‘ mee 
Lat 


LA\e rl , . 
Wa dati) ue 
NOON NY 


DRT ys 
CANS 


MK 
iy : n 


CAS 


( 

. 
a 
yi 


toe Mai 
MY bia! AS han 
eh nw Rtas 


a 


rons et aah 
Ley tiene [ 


ae ae 


ae 


5 , ey ; 
4 ; aha } 


ae 


«a 


Pm 
age & 


Fa ~ Nog 


~< 


y 
+ 
‘i 
vy 


= eee te 
ce 
a a 
» 


= a 


Pee 


; 2 a ; 


Ee | 
© 
wy 


i 
ee 


4 \ t 


4 ’ ; . : > ; tit 4 ’ : aralatalalale erets efats ate 
. ; . ; 4a stehs ? : . > : ; ‘ ots et ate : ‘s she Y piste! 4 ie? ; 


| 


3 0112 000581022 


| 


UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA 


eelee 
nee 


ye 
5S 
is 
ot 
ote 
‘i tie 
a +h 
t a2 
¢ tit 
> ste 
rt ies 
hy tty 
F Re 
: Site 
2 qa 
a righ iets 
: istsleletalebate 
alatsletpigtatehal 
a7 
tte Tees 
ef tale 
; ih Fat ; rite? 
; 
? t s! ist 
3 ; u 
Hi He ¢ fe Tal 
. : it 4 Sf +t) 
A ee aE uy + i ity ut Heats 
t eet ale oe + iattterttats Foret a 
i ae +h, Hes i at $f 3 tt 
7 rete ft tf $ ePytptah laa +) 
t igi tty ts sles ig tile $ tt 
f # Bee int tj $ teed tygtats i tt 
Hy ty rely HG i oe nent a Waetanrstaneteta het 
$ ‘ +. wets eres a 
i iH ia it t ee ‘ee AafstetN telat 4 ant Weensht 
8 a ce tty tt ot srt a phelgtalytebete Ss Wttiehstetete tn get 
os rt Ba tates sx Teytpsghattica te fotigietet th safeties aenitins 
1) +s 4 =f = i 
i Hi mat es : setyig ies as 
; ; ais . wile ithe f 
4 is i ? cs ateiatertets Hy : 
e ae teh tee 3 ae betes 3 it tt 
tr re ait eeetel te ahah’ 
rie maria ia 


3) el it rie 


ae 
nate ne 


rr iB i Be a tet i ate a at nett! elt 
fotetelstatetate rirts! Hetderetetr titre 2 3 Hi tty es at att! 3) # ut OTA 
nate ee Tatty! ae a a ie seen ee my ae ae fe ait aa aH rae Tas 

tied nye a Bite at fy Ht ages Me ae at site WTAE eT Te 
wt Pate tH 


*! u3 ast ' ‘y. 
telgteleleteteiotetns el gtatetat stietee setts naee Tater Bete een et 


